


Lipstick And Fireflies

by TheseusInTheMaze



Series: Plausible Deniability [2]
Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Arguing, Conflict, Drunk Sex, Emotions, Established Relationship, First Time, Jealousy, Melodrama, Multi, Oral Sex, Panic Attack, Pining, Polyamory, Rimming, Sappy, Vibrators
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 14:32:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9127864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheseusInTheMaze/pseuds/TheseusInTheMaze
Summary: A sequel to The Couch of Plausible Deniability.Further adventures in Holly's adventures in polyamory.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HerbertBest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerbertBest/gifts).



Holly leaned back against Dan, and stared up at the sky. 

The moon was grinning down at them, like some kind of Halloween decoration, and there were a few stars, mixed in with all of the light pollution. 

The fireflies twinkling around them made their own little constellation, around the dried grass, the blanket they were sitting on, and their outstretched legs, his long ones bracketing hers.

"They're my favorite," Dan said quietly, his chin on Holly's shoulder and his arms wrapped around her middle, his hands resting on top of her hands, on her tummy. 

"Favorite what?" Holly kept her voice equally quiet, savoring the moment, which hung on a thread of silk, delicate and oh so breakable. 

"Just in general." He kissed her temple. "I can have a lot of favorites, you know." 

"Yeah,' Holly said, and she sighed, snuggling into him. 

"Watch this," said Dan, and he held his hands out patiently, for almost three minutes, before a firefly crawled across his palm. He closed his hands, cupping them, and the small light shone through his fingers. 

Oh. _Oh._

She was having feelings. Complicated feelings, that were tying up her chest in knots, and she bit her lip to keep from tearing up. 

He was so... he was so big, and he was so sweet, so gentle, and he didn't _need_ to be, and he just was, without thinking or making a fuss about it. 

He loved her, like a plant loves the sun, and she still didn't know how to handle that. What do you even do with that kind of love? It can eat you alive, if you're not careful, and so much can just... go wrong with it. His devotion left her shaking - what if she didn't ever return it to the same degree? What if she loved him more than she loved Ross? What if....

What if, what if, what if. 

With a sigh, she squirmed against him, watching him open his hands and letting the firefly fly off, her eyes misting up. She sighed again, and he made a concerned noise, his cheek against hers. 

"You okay, pigeon?" His voice was concerned, and that made her heart twist harder and she sobbed quietly, a little hiccup of sound. 

Dan gathered her closer, rocking her, making vague reassuring noises and pressing dry, whiskery kisses along her cheek.

"You... I can't wait for this video to be shot," Holly said thickly, and she wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "You look like a muppet when you're all fuzzy faced."

"Aww," said Dan, "It makes me cute and cuddly, and you know it."

"You're already cute and cuddly," Holly said, squirming closer to him, her feelings settling out, somewhat.

So she loved him. Probably. At least... she felt as strongly for him as he did for her. She didn't know how long it was going to last, but she could... at least she could revel in it, while she was feeling it, right? 

"Show me how to do that," she told Dan. "The firefly thing."

"You've never done it before?" Dan sounded surprised. They were pressed closer together, and his voice was reverberating against her back, through his chest. 

"No," said Holly. "I'm always afraid I'll squish them."

"I'll show you, watch," said Dan. He held her hands in his, supporting them as he held them forward.

The firefly's little legs were almost ticklish against her palm, and when Dan carefully cupped his hands around hers, the light flickered like a candle through their fingers. 

Her heart beat a bit faster, and she rested her head on his shoulder, as they opened their hands, and the little bug flew off to freedom, a speck of blinking light in the night.

* * * 

"You're in a good mood," said Suzy, passing behind Holly as the shorter woman hummed as she edited. 

"Oh!" Holly blushed. "Well, uh... I had a nice night," she said, aware that her ears were turning pink, and her neck. 

"Ooo... crazy poly lifestyle stuff?" Suzy waggled her eyebrows exaggeratedly, and she nudged Holly in the side. 

Holly snorted. "Yeah," she said, deadpan. "I spent the night in with Dan and watched a movie. Super alternative lifestyle." 

"What's the point of living a weird lifestyle, if you're not, like, out having wild orgies every night?" Suzy leaned against the desk, her arms crossed over her chest. "If I were poly like you are, I'd totally be out doing, like... all the stuff." 

Holly snorted. "I'm not really an... 'all the stuff' kinda gal," she said. "Anyway, could you see me at an orgy?" 

"I totally could," said Suzy, and her expression was something like... well, lecherous. 

Suzy was spending too much time around Arin.

Except of course she spent so much time with Arin, they were married.

Holly's brain was clearly chasing its own tail.

"I think I'm gonna get some lunch," she told Suzy. "You wanna come?"

"Sure!" Suzy grinned. 

* * * 

They were halfway through their sandwiches when Suzy cleared her throat. Strangely enough, she looked... almost uncomfortable. She kept fidgeting, and taking rapid sips of her drink.

"Is everything okay?" 

"Yeah," Suzy said. "I'd just, uh...." She laughed nervously, and something in her face opened up. 

Suzy was beautiful. Like, genuinely, show stoppingly beautiful. 

Arin was a lucky guy. 

"What's up?"

"Can you tell me about the poly stuff? Like... how you figured out you were poly, how you ended up with Dan of all people?"

"Sure," said Holly. "That's, uh... that's not a problem at all." She smiled at Suzy. "Is that why you've been so antsy?"

"I'm sorry," Suzy said, and she put a hand on Holly's arm, squeezing it. "I don't want to, like, intrude on your personal life or anything. I've just never met anyone like you. It's just... fascinating."

"... I'd advise against using the term fascinating," said Holly, making a face. She didn't shake Suzy's hand off, though. "It makes me feel like a science project." 

“I’m sorry,” said Suzy. “Okay. So, uh, first things first. How’d you figure out that you were poly?”

“Well,” said Holly, “me and Ross met this other couple at an art thing, and they talked about polyamory a lot, and the guy’s wife was… very pretty.” She blushed, looking down at her plate, where her omelette sat half eaten. “So, uh… we made inquiries. And then it kinda… didn’t go in the direction we were expecting.” 

“What direction were you expecting?”

“I wanted to date her. But he said the only way I could date her was if I dated him as well. But she seemed to lose interest pretty quickly, and he was kinda… urgh.” She made a face. “So I ended up asking Dan to rescue me from a bad date, since Ross was feeling gross and not up for driving. And then it kinda… snowballed from there.” 

“Wait. You like women?” Suzy looked… genuinely stricken. “So you’re… bisexual?”

“Or pansexual? I don’t know.” Holly shrugged. “I… I really liked Emma. I don’t know if I like women in general, or just goth tattooed artists who happen to be women.” This was an uncomfortable conversation, but what is friendship, if not for a bit of the awkward? 

“I… didn’t know that,” said Suzy, and she leaned back into her chair, looking at her sandwich. “I, um. I’m glad you’re happy.”

“I am,” Holly said, and her own sincerity surprised her. “I really, really am.”

“That’s the important part,” said Suzy, and she smiled at Holly, a genuine smile that went straight to her eyes, and she patted Holly’s hand. 

Suzy had such a lovely smile. Holly hadn’t really realized that until now.

* * * 

_My buddy is having a book launch party. You wanna come to that with me?_

Holly glanced down at her phone. 

_What kinda party is it gonna be?_

_Just a bunch of people standing around in a bar and talking about his book, probably. I told him I’d make an appearance. If you don’t wanna come, I can just call you when it’s done, and you can come over then._

_Sounds like fun. Do I need to change clothes or something?_

_Nah. Just bring your beautiful self._

Holly smiled down at her phone fondly, and then she glanced up, and caught Suzy looking at her thoughtfully. 

Holly smiled at her nervously. Suzy smiled back, and looked down at her keyboard. 

Huh. 

* * * 

The bar was a pleasantly divey place, full of dark corners, sticky tables, and vinyl booths. Dan talked to his buddy, then retreated to a wall with a bottle of soda. 

Holly was nursing her own drink, which was a bit heavy on the gin, light on the tonic. They were free, though, and she wasn't doing anything important the next day.

"You look like a muppet," Holly told Dan, leaning back against him and sipping her drink. Everything was spinning enjoyably, and she was just... floating. At least she didn't have to think about the awkward conversation with Suzy right now. 

"I'll have you know, yours is the only hand that's been up my ass," said Dan, right in her ear, his beard ticklish against her ear, his breath hot and familiar, raising goosebumps up and down her neck. 

"... what?" Holly turned around, looking up at him confusedly.

"You know. Because muppets have... hands up their butts?"

"But muppets don't actually have butts."

"Well, yeah, okay." Dan leaned down and he kissed her on the mouth, then pulled back, wrinkling his nose. "You taste like gin."

"Funny, that," said Holly, and she rattled the ice cubes in her glass. 

"How many of those have you had, anyway?" He took a sniff of it, and he wrinkled his nose. "Holy shit, someone's got a heavy hand."

Holly shifted, and the floor shifted in the opposite direction. "I think... four? They were giving them out for free, so I thought I might, you know... take advantage. And, uh... I don't have to... I don't have to drive." She chuckled. 

Dan wrapped his arms around her, and he kissed her, sweetly, gently, with his scruffy, bearded face and his warm, dry lips. 

Holly kissed him back, and she deepened it, bringing her hands up to tangle in his hair, tugging on it gently, pressing her whole body against his, the long line of his rangy body a sharp contrast to her own softness. She slid her hands down, into the confines of his jacket, and she held onto the back of his shirt, twisting it in her fingers. 

"Sweetheart, I think you've had a bit much," said Dan, and he sounded amused. 

"Possibly," said Holly. "But, uh... but you... you drove." She smiled at him. "You're so pretty, you know that?" She tilted her head back, so that they were staring at each other eye to eye, and she giggled again, looking down at her chest, where her the collar of her shirt was a bit low, showing off a few inches of pale skin. 

"Oh, my," said Dan, and he sounded amused. He glanced this way, glanced that way, and found nobody was paying attention to them - all the action was in the middle, it seemed, where the man of the hour was talking about his book. 

Dan hooked his finger into the collar of her shirt, and he drew it back, staring right down it. He glanced over at her, and he smirked, his eyes twinkling in the dim light. 

"You're a bit of a pervert," Holly said, her hands moving to his back pockets, squeezing his flat butt. "You're... you're living up to the stereotype."

"What stereotype?" He was pulling her shirt down further, and she wished, vaguely, that she had worn a push up bra.

She'd never done the whole performative "slut" thing for Ross - he wasn't so much into it. He liked the natural look, and she wasn't really one for performance - it always felt fake.

Something about Dan was just... bringing something out of her. Something dirty, slutty, satisfyingly gross. 

Maybe it was because she was drunk, but all she wanted to do was wear a short skirt and bright red lipstick, to bend over a few too many times. 

"The stereotype of the horny poly guy," said Holly, and she was chuckling, low and deep in her throat. "If you're gonna keep looking at them, they're gonna get lonely."

"... how drunk are you, Holly?" Dan laughed, pulling his jacket open with one hand, the leather soft and whispery against Holly's arm. He let go of her shirt, and the collar popped against her neck. He groped her, pressing down on her nipple with his thumb, and then he let go of her, kissing her on the forehead. 

"I mean, uh... you're... you're...." She struggled to get her thoughts in the right order, as they muddled through her head. "I'm... if I'm going to do the whole alternative lifestyle thing, I should try it sometimes, right? Like... not just being... boring."

"I don't think you're boring," said Dan, and he cupped her face, thumbing her cheekbone. "I think you're the most wonderful girl in the world."

... welp. He was looking at her with such... intensity, like he was expecting... something, and she didn't know how to react to that. 

As drunk as she was, the best idea she could think of was to kiss him, grabbing him by the shoulders and kissing him as hard as she could, with her tongue, her lips, her teeth. It was a _dirty_ kiss, the kind of kisses that you imagine when you're jerking off and want to feel the press of someone else's lips against your own. 

Dan, of course, was a human being, and Holly might not have been some kind of seductress or whatever, but she could make someone's toes curl, if she really wanted to. So he didn't pursue whatever emotion filled confession he was planning, because Holly was trying to pull his thoughts out via his mouth. 

"Let's go home," said Dan. "We can get you some water, something to soak up that booze."

"I wanna suck your cock," Holly told him earnestly. "I was... I was talking to Suzy today, you know? She was talking about, like... she was talking about how if _she_ was doing... you know, the stuff we do? Being poly. How she's... how she'd do, like orgies."

"... do you want to do orgies?" Dan looked nonplussed. 

"Well, no," said Holly. "Where do you even put your elbows?"

“... wherever you can fit them?” 

“You’ve done the threesome thing, haven’t you?” Holly leaned against him, staggering slightly as they made their way out, after saying their goodbyes. “What was it like?”

“Eh,” said Dan, and he shrugged. “I’d rather sleep with just one person who I’m really into, than two people I’m kinda into.”

“What if you were really, really into the two people?” 

“I don’t have two people I’m that into, honestly,” said Dan. “I’ve just got the one.”

He seemed to be in a sappy mood, and she was just a bit too drunk to deal with serious talks about feelings, at this moment in time. Not when the world was spinning in ways it usually didn’t, and her blood was singing hot and carbonated in her veins.

Well, okay, maybe not carbonated. But she was so… bubbly, fizzy, full of restless energy, beating through her limbs, leaving her the kind of horny that she hadn’t really experienced since she was a teenager. 

Holly grabbed Dan, shoving him against his car, and she kissed him, one leg wrapped around his waist, grinding unsteadily against him, her skirt riding up higher, around her ass.

“Mmm….” Dan grabbed Holly’s ass with his warm hands, pulling her closer, kissing her for all the world to see. 

Well, okay, all the world in the tiny parking lot, behind the dive bar, but still. 

“Mmm?” Holly pulled back,panting heavily, her whole body reeling as she clung to him like a vine. “What if… what if… what if I… wanted a threesome?”

“Who would you want a threesome with?” Dan slid his hand up Holly’s skirt, grabbing her ass and squeezing it. 

“You… you and Ross,” Holly mumbled into his neck, bringing her leg down and reaching around to grab his ass. “I wanna see… I wanna see you. Together.”

“Yeah?” Dan ground against her, then pulled his hands away hastily, as someone walked by. “You’ve got a thing for gay porn?”

“I’ve got a thing for you, and I’ve got a thing for Ross,” said Holly. “Two of my favorite people.” That… that sounded awfully close to other stuff, and her stomach seized up in terror. She kissed him again, to hide it, to swallow it down, to fill her whole mind with the scent and the taste of him. 

“I’d be willing to make out with Ross for you,” Dan said against her lips. “He’s not horrible looking.” He gave her a final kiss on the lips, then walked her around the car, opening the passenger side door. 

“What, really?” Holly buckled her seatbelt, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes. She was still feeling… spinny, and it was beginning to make her a bit queasy. 

It didn’t help that the car smelled like french fries. 

“Sure,” said Dan, and he shot her that same tender look, that froze her stomach and made her heart speed up. “I’d try just about anything for you, as long as it wasn’t too… you know, out there.”

“What would be too out there?”

“... I dunno. Sticking things in my dick, maybe?” Dan started the car. 

“... how would I even do that?”

“Let’s not go down that road,” Dan said, and he shivered as they made their way towards home.

* * * 

Holly crouched in front of Dan, and she looked up at him and grinned. Her hands were on his inner thighs, and the denim was rough under her palms. 

He was panting, looking down at her.

“Are you… are you sure?” He looked genuinely worried, which gave her pause. 

“Are you okay?” She rested her chin on his knee and looked up at him. 

“I mean, you seem, uh… awfully excited, considering you’re just going to suck my cock.”

“Well, yeah,” said Holly, sitting back on her heels and giving him a perplexed look. “Why wouldn’t you want me to suck your cock?” 

“I mean, like… I know you like it, I just don’t see it as… exciting? Since you’re not getting anything out of it.”

“Not getting anything out of it!” Holly sat up on her knees, and she prodded him in the elbow. “You’re doing the thing!”

“What thing?” Dan looked bewildered. 

“The thing where you think that I’m only with you for stuff you can do for me!” She prodded him again. “That’s not fair! You’re amazing. You’re awesome. You’re great. You know I can’t get enough of you!” 

Her was a righteous fury. An admittedly drunken righteous fury, but still. 

How did the big idiot miss how amazing he was? 

She loved him.

She actually, really loved him. 

… and that was a thought that was enough to sober her up a bit, and now was _not_ the time for this, now was the time for bringing Dan’s self esteem up, and suck his dick until he couldn’t think straight. 

“Do you want me to suck your dick?” Holly took one of his hands, and she kissed the tip of his finger, then began to kiss along the tip of it, then took it into her mouth, flickering her tongue along the fingernail, swallowing it, bit by bit, until she was almost gagging on it. 

“Well, uh.. .when provided… provided… fuck, Hol,” mumbled Dan. “I can’t think when you do that.”

Holly let go, still holding on to his wrist. “Sorry,” she said. 

Dan grinned at her, one eyebrow up. “I didn’t say stop,” he said, pressing his thumb against her lower lip. 

Holly rolled her eyes, and she took his thumb in her mouth and sucked it, staring up at him with big green eyes. She licked along his finger, kissing his palm, then kissing down his wrist. 

Dan unbuttoned his pants awkwardly, tilting his hips at a weird angle to get his butt up, shoving his jeans down around his thighs. 

His cock was hard, it was hot, the head was already leaking. It was so hot when she took it into her mouth, and he squirmed against her, panting. 

“Fuck, Holly,” Dan mumbled, and his hands were on her head. Not pulling her hair, not pushing her down, just keeping her in place. 

“Mmm?” She looked up at him through her eyelashes, and she took more of him into her mouth, slowly moving down, until her lower lip hit the very root. 

“Oh god, Holly, you look so fucking… god, I wish you could kiss me and suck my dick at the same time!”

Holly pulled off of his cock, because she needed to laugh right then and there, cackling, like a jackal, landing on her ass and covering her mouth with both hands. She wishd that she was wearing lipstick - she wanted to leave marks on Dan’s cock, on his groin. Mark that she had been here. 

She pushed his jeans down lower, hobbling him, and she shoved his legs open wider, taking a bite out of his thigh and sucking on it. She could feel the muscle twitching under the skin, against her teeth. She sucked on it until she tasted pennies, then pulled off with a pop, admiring her handiwork. 

Dan bruised like a goddamn banana - it was already shaping up to be one hell of a hickey. 

“Ow, Holly!” He reached down, prodding the spot and wincing. “Wow. You’ve got jaw strength!” 

Holly grinned. “I eat my veggies and drink my milk,” she told him, beginning to kiss up his thighs again, wrapping her hand around his shaft. She leaned down and licked his balls, then took one in her mouth, sucking on it. The texture was… strange, admittedly (like sticking an un blown up balloon in your mouth and sucking) , but he made the most amazing sounds when she did it, whimpers, moans, half gasps. 

“Fuck, Hol, oh my god, this is… oh, _god_.” She licked higher up, along the underside of his cock, up along the vein, his circumcision scar, back to the head again, enveloping it into her mouth, then sliding the tip of her tongue along his frenulum. 

Holly took him into her mouth, inch by inch, until he was actually down her throat, and she swallowed around him, gagging around him. Her eyes were dripping, her nose was running, and her hands were on Dan’s hips as he whimpered, his hands in his own hair. 

She looked up at him, and she fancied her green eyes looked especially luminous. Or maybe she was imagining that. But she was sucking him, she was bobbing her head up and down, she felt like a woman out of a porno, or maybe the kind of bad hentai that Arin and Ross liked to put on for a laugh. 

Dan stared down at her, his hair flyblown, his own eyes wide, one hand over his mouth. He was moaning and gasping, his head tilting back to reveal the long tendons of his neck, and she wanted to kiss it, she wanted to dig her teeth in, she wanted to kiss him, she wanted… she wanted….

“Cum on my face.” Holly pulled off of him, licking the tip of his cock. She began to jerk him off, and his jaw was clenching, his thighs were tensing up, his whole body beginning to go tense. 

“W-what?”

“My face. Cum on my face. Please!” She aimed the head of his cock at her cheek, and he was getting thicker in her hand, he was heating up, turning purple, and he was cumming on her face, sticky, and bitter and salty. It dripped down her cheeks, across her lips, onto her shirt. 

“Wow,” Dan said. “I, uh… I’m sorry.” 

“Why are you sorry?” Holly blinked, the jizz beginning to dry on her skin already.

Dan looked down at her with a slightly distressed expression, then pulled his shirt of, wiping her face tenderly. 

“I dunno,” said Dan. “It felt kinda… porny. I know porn isn’t always, like, the best to women, you know?”

Holly’s heart fluttered in her chest like a bird. 

“I wanna make it up to you,” said Dan. 

“Make it up to me?”

“Well….” He looked shy, and he looked crafty, not exactly a standard combination. “Remember when we talked about doing weird butt stuff?” 

“Yeah?” 

“How about... .” He leaned down, and she sat up, so that they were forehead to forehead. “How about I eat your ass?” 

Holly’s smile faltered. Because she knew about butt stuff, and butt stuff meant certain… preparations, which might take a while, and that wasn’t exactly something that you wanted to dabble in without aforementioned preparations. 

“Holly?” Dan kisses her. “You’re in your head again.”

She laughed, anxiety and cheerful drunkenness swaying through her, like waves in a water tank. 

“Usually I pull you out of your own head,” said Holly, and she rubbed noses with him, and kissed him, giggling nervously. 

“Go lie on your tummy on the bed,” said Dan. “I can, uh… let me worry about stuff, okay?” 

“Okay,” said Holly, because everything was spinning gently, and everything just felt… nice. Calm. Almost giddy. 

She staggered to his bedroom, lying flat on her belly on the bed, her hands under her face.

“Hi,” said Dan, from somewhere behind her. His hands were on her hips, pushing her skirt up, and then he was hooking her panties down, helping her kick them off. “I, uh… I’ve got something new for you.”

“Other than analingus?” 

“That’s a fancy word. I’m impressed.” 

“I’m a cunning linguist, what can I say?” Holly chuckled. 

“God, that’s _my_ joke,” said Dan, and he gave her a tap on the ass. “But no. Something else.” 

“Am I gonna like it?” 

“I sure hope so,” said Dan. There was a rummaging noise, and then something warm and wet and... fabric was being rubbed across certain bits of her anatomy that she had been worried about, and some of the worry went away. 

At least that was gonna be clean.

“There we go,” said Dan. “Now… part two.” He tapped her hip. “Can you get up on your knees?”

“So what’s our surprise?” Holly wriggled under him, his big, warm hands moving from her hips to her ass, holding the cheeks open. His breath was warm and his beard was ticklish against the delicate skin.

“Just… relax,” said Dan, in a calm, soothing tone. “Enjoy yourself, pigeon.”

She always felt a special little tremble in his belly whenever he used that nickname. 

Dan’s tongue was tentative around the rim of her asshole, and his furry face was ticklish against the delicate skin there. His hands were on the cheeks of her ass, holding her open, and his nose was breathing warm, humid air against her skin. 

“Mmm,” he mumbled, and his tongue was sliding inside of her, and that was… it was weird, it was really weird, but it was _good_ too, the kind of good that she could tell she was going to crave, although maybe it was the alcohol, because everything felt like it was more. His tongue was wetter, her breath was coming harder, her pussy was emptier….

“Dan? Dan, oh god!” She was moaning. She was moaning, really loud, and when had that happened? Wouldn’t she have noticed if she was making noise? But her throat was vibrating, her chest was rising and falling, and there were noises in the air, other than the obscene slurping noises he was making. 

“You like it?” Dan nuzzled her ass, letting go of her cheeks for a minute to kiss at her lower back, mouthing along her spine where her skirt was riding up. 

“It’s… I love it,” Holly said, shivering. “It’s… wow.”

“I know I’ve done a good job when I can’t get you to make a full sentence,” said Dan, and there was more rustling. Something was being pressed between Holly’s leg, and something cold and flat was pressed against her pussy. 

“What’s this?” Holly reached down to investigate, but Dan pushed her hand away.

“You’ll find out in a minute,” Dan said, and there was a bit more fumbling. 

Then he turned it on.

It sounded like a food processor with something stuck, or maybe a very low pitched dentist drill.

But who gave a flying fuck what it sounded like, because it was pressed right up against her, and it was buzzing, a deep, rumbling vibration that seemed to be getting all the way to her pelvic bone, stimulating her g-spot, leaving her pussy twitching and spasming around nothing. 

She came in an embarrassingly short amount of time. Truly, truly embarrassing. She came so hard it sprayed, across her belly, all over her skirt.

And he just kept it there. Another orgasm hit her, and another, and another, his tongue working tirelessly, and her whole body was made of jelly. She flopped down face first on the bed, panting, as all of the sweetness danced under her skin and through her bones. 

“So what do you think? Are you converted to weird butt stuff?” Dan removed the vibrator, and flopped on top of her, the zipper of his pants pressed into her bare butt.

Holly gave a thumbs up. 

“How about we give you a shower?”

“Five more minutes,” Holly mumbled.

She felt Dan laughing against her back, and she snickered herself. She’d take a shower. When her knees worked again.

“You should have put down a towel,” Holly mumbled. “It’d save you on the laundry.”

“I needed to do laundry anyway.”

* * * 

Time went by. Life went on.

When she came home, she had to sit on a bag of frozen peas. Ross ribbed her for almost a week.

Dan was endlessly apologetic, and especially gentle with her the next time they had sex.

Suzy got friendlier, which was nice. A lot more texting, a lot more touching. It was nice - Suzy had always come off as a bit standoffish, and having a friend who will cuddle up to you on the couch or wrap an arm around your waist while walking down the street. It was nice to have someone she could ask advice about buying sexy lingerie, or who would complain about her own problems with buying bras. Someone who could help her figure out how to perform a certain flavor of femininity that she wasn't used to.

But after three months, Suzy was getting... well, if Holly had thought that she was a bit chilly before the new wave of friendliness, now she was downright _brusque._

"I don't get it," Holly said to Ross, as they lay in bed one night. She was looking through her phone - she and Suzy been having a spirited conversation about the merits of different fabrics the week before! Now Suzy was sending her one word answers. 

"The only way you can really find out is if you talk to her," said Ross, curling up in a ball and hogging half the covers. 

Holly tugged hers over herself, and she plugged her phone into charge, stretching out under the cool sheets. 

She'd talk to Suzy in the morning. 

* * * 

_Wanna go to lunch?_

_When?_

_How about tomorrow? There's a new place I've been wanting to try, and I'll be in the office!_

_Fine._

... ouch. 

* * *

"Do you wanna take my car?" Holly walked cautiously up to Suzy's desk. "For, uh... for lunch."

Suzy looked up at her, wearing an expression that was bordering on morose, and something close to hostile. 

"Sure," she said, unenthused.

"I mean, um, if you'd rather not, that's fine, or take your -" 

"No, it's fine," said Suzy.

It was, quite possibly, the most awkward car ride that Holly had ever been on. She tried to start a conversation several times, but all attempts were kneecapped like a baseball player who refused to throw his game. 

It wasn't until they were seated at the table with their food in front of them that Holly tried to start the conversation. 

"Hey, uh, Suzy?"

"Yeah?" 

Holly licked her lips, and she looked over at Suzy, who was eyeing her coolly. 

Suzy was wearing minimal makeup - a bit of eyeshadow, her custom eyeliner. Some kind of dark, plum colored lipstick. 

"Is... is something bothering you?" 

"Why do you think something is wrong?" Suzy put her fork down on the table, and she looked at Holly intently. 

"Well, um... you've been a bit... that is, we were, uh... we were talking a lot more last week. And you seem to have kinda... stopped wanting to be my friend." Holly looked down at her plate, her cheeks flushing red.

Fuck she hated confrontation. 

"I see," said Suzy. 

Holly risked a glimpse up to Suzy's face, and saw... was her lower lip shaking? What the heck?

"Suzy? Are you alright?" Holly risked a hand on top of Suzy's, and Suzy withdrew it. 

"It's... it's not fair," Suzy sobbed, and she was crying, mascara dripping down her face, her eyeliner smudged. "I'm... I read up on poly. I did all the... the work, I told Arin about it, I've been talking about it...."

"Do you... are you having trouble with something related to polyamory?" That... was unexpected. Usually Suzy and Arin came off as one of those do or die romances, the kind that would stay together until they were both old and dead. "Is Arin looking for a partner? Are you feeling neglected?" Holly wracked her brain, trying to think of what would make the normally so composed Suzy so upset. "Does he have a new girlfriend?"

"No!" Suzy mumbled, and she pressed her face into a napkin, still crying noisily. She was beginning to hiccup, and her nose was turning red. 

"Suzy, sweetheart... I can't help you if I don't know what's bothering you. Like, specifically," said Holly. "Unless you don't want me to help you. Which is, uh, also legitimate. You can just want to cry. I mean, um, if you want to."

Could a hole just open up in the earth and swallow her right here? That'd be nice.

Suzy looked at her through streaming, red rimmed eyes, and she looked... well, she looked close to angry.

"How can you be so cruel?" She demanded. "You're such... you're such a good person, how are you being so mean to me?!" More loud crying. 

This was a bit like being in a melodrama. Holly hadn't realized how much that was the actual opposite of her life goals, until now. 

"If I've hurt you, I'm really sorry," said Holly. 

"Th-that's the worst part," said Suzy, and she sniffed, looking resigned. "You really are, aren't you?" She wiped her face on her napkin.

"Could you... could you tell me what it is that I did to upset you? If that wouldn't be too much trouble, that is." No more crying. Please no more crying. 

"... you're kidding, right?" Suzy blew her nose discreetly, looking over at Holly with a genuinely confused expression. 

"No. I'm not. Totally lost." 

"... Holly? I've been flirting with you for three months. Like, hardcore." She blushed. “I’ve got the biggest crush on you.”

"... what?!" 

Holly sat back, and tried to collect her thoughts. So all of Suzy's friendliness? She'd been flirting?

... actually, that would explain a lot of the bra pictures. And the cuddling. And the suggestive looks that Holly had dismissed as Suzy making eyes at Dan. Sine who wouldn’t wanna make eyes at Dan?

A warm flush crept from Holly's face, into her belly, across her chest.

_Suzy_ had a crush on _her_?! But Suzy was so... glamorous, and interesting, and... cool.

Holy god that sounded juvenile. 

“I… didn’t realize,” Holy stuttered, still gaping at Suzy like a fish. 

Suzy burst out laughing, ugly laughing, and her nose was still running, her eyes still red, and something in Holly’s chest just… squeezed, like she’d had the wind knocked out of her.

“Oh my _god_ , Holly, you’re so cute. And so clueless, holy shit, you didn’t… oh my god!” Suzy was laughing so hard that she had doubled over, and was in danger of knocking her water glass over. “Oh my god. Oh my….” 

Holly began to giggle as well, covering her mouth with both hands, then bursting into louder laughter, earning them looks from other tables.

“I’m a little clueless,” she gasped out. “I’m s-s-sorry. And, uh, in fairness… you do flirt with, like, every woman you talk to on Twitter.”

“Don’t be,” said Suzy. “It’s adorable.” She patted Holly on the hand, and then she kept her hand there, looking at Holly through her admittedly very smudged eyes. “So… now that you know I’m flirting with you. Would you be… interested?”

Holly licked her lips. 

Was she interested? 

“I… don’t know yet,” said Holly, honestly. 

Suzy’s face fell, but she smiled. 

“Well, no matter what, I want to still be your friend, okay?”

 

“Oh, of course,” said Holly. “I need to… I need to talk to Ross about this. And Dan. Ross and Dan.”

“I thought the poly thing meant you were free to… you know, go out and do whatever,” said Suzy. “Rules are a sign of an insecure relationship.” She sounded like she was parroting something she had read.

“It’s not insecure,” Holly said, a bit defensive. “It’s not even a rule. I just… you know, wanna get their input.” She cleared her throat, because now this was going down slightly uncomfortable roads. “They’re both… well, I mean, they’re two of the most important people in my life. I want to talk to them before I do anything… drastic.”

“Going on a date with me would be drastic?”

“Sort of,” said Holly. 

Oh god. Date. Suzy had said date.

Suzy wanted to go on a date.

“How?” 

“It’s… well, it’s different.” Holly was aware she was about to start babbling. “I’d need, to, uh… just… make sure what they’re comfortable with.” 

“Of course,” said Suzy, and she gave Holly’s hand a squeeze, then cleared her throat. “I’m going to, uh… clean up.” She indicated her face ruefully. “It must look horrible.”

“I think you look lovely,” said Holly, before her brain could catch up with her mouth.

Suzy smiled at her, a smile that could light up a room. 

“Thank you,” she said, taking her purse and making her way towards the lady’s room. 

As soon as Suzy was out of sight, Holly whipped out her phone, texting Dan and Ross. 

_Hey, guys, if you’re not busy, can I talk to you when I get back from lunch?_

* * * 

“So Suzy.” 

“Yeah.” 

“She’s… gay?”

“Well, no.” Holly stared down at her own hands, trying not to fidget. 

“Thanks for telling me, babe,” said Ross. He kissed her on the lips, and then he went out, presumably to go back to bothering Brian like he had been when he had been called away.

“So.” Dan cleared his throat. “You want to… you want to date Suzy?”

“I mean, uh… I’d be willing to try it,” said Holly, and she smiled at him nervously. “Would that… would that be okay?”

“Of course it would be,” said Dan, his tone light. “My girlfriend is getting together with an equally hot woman.” He laughed, and it sounded a bit hollow.

That… was kind of uncomfortable, although Holly couldn’t put her finger on why.

So she smiled at him, and she stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the lips, a gentle, affectionate peck. 

He kissed her back, one hand on her hip, and then he patted her on the rear end.

“I’ve gotta record an episode,” he said apologetically. “When are you, uh… when are you thinking of getting together with Suzy?” 

“Maybe on Wednesday,” said Holly. 

“We had a date planned for that day,” said Dan. “But it’s okay,” he said quickly. “We can reschedule, maybe for Friday?”

“That sounds like a good plan,” said Holly, and she smiled at him, more genuinely this time. 

“I like to think I come up with them sometimes,” said Dan. He kissed her again, and then they both made their way out, to the main space.

* * *  
Holly stared at her phone with something like dread. It was just a piece of machinery. It shouldn't have been as nerve wracking as it was. 

She was just texting Suzy. 

With a sigh, she picked up the little electronic, and she fired off a text message.

_Would you want to go out to dinner on Wednesday night?_

Suzy replied almost immediately. 

_What kind of dinner? Like, a buddy dinner or a date dinner?_

Oh god. 

_I was thinking a date dinner?_

_What kinda date were you thinking?_

_Well, there's this new restaurant that opened up recently, I was thinking that we could maybe go there for dinner on Wednesday?_

_Sounds good! You wanna pick me up at six?_

_Sure!_

_Can't wait to see you! ; *_

Holly stared down at her screen, at the dumb little emoticon. 

She blushed, and then went back to hemming her cloak. 

* * *

Holly stood before Suzy's front door, steeling herself to knock.

She didn't have a chance to, because Arin opened the door for her.

"Hi," said Arin, and he smiled, a bit nervous. 

"Hi," said Holly. "It's, uh... nice to see you."

"I know I'm not the one you came here to see," Arin said lightly, and he smiled at her. 

It looked a bit forced.

"I mean, I'm always glad to see you," said Holly, and she cleared her throat.

Arin chuckled, then yelled over his shoulder.

"Suzy! Your date is here!"

"Gimme a minute," Suzy called back. 

"Do you want me to invite her in?" 

"Yeah, hold on." 

There was a scuffling sound, and then Suzy was peeking up over Arin's shoulder. 

"Hi," said Suzy.

"Hi," said Holly. 

"I feel like a wall in a Shakespeare play," said Arin. 

"You read Shakespeare?" Holly wasn't sure why that surprised her so much. It wasn't like Arin gave off a particularly uneducated vibe.

Maybe it was all the dick jokes.

Then again, Shakespeare was kind of known for dick jokes. 

"I've got hidden depths," said Arin."I'll see you later, dollface." He turned around awkwardly and kissed Suzy on the lips. He smiled at Holly, and he wriggled around her. "Have a good, uh... have a good date." He looked momentarily uncomfortable, and then he smiled. 

Holly let him past, and then she looked at Suzy, and she... well, it was hard not to gape. 

Suzy was wearing a decent amount of lipstick - that same plumb colored lipstick, some kind of drapey black dress. She had curled her hair, and she looked....

She looked like some kind of dark, gothic princess out of a fairy tale. 

Holly's heart beat a little faster, and her hands were starting to sweat. 

"Hi," said Suzy. "I, uh... I hope I'm not over dressed."

"Oh, no," said Holly quickly, and she looked down at her own outfit - her kitty cat blouse and her light blue skirt.

"Shall we?" Suzy offered Holly her hand. 

"We shall," said Holly, and she blushed, squeezing Suzy's hand as they walked towards the car.

* * * 

It was a nice date - Holly couldn't quite shake the feeling that she was forgetting something, or that she was going to mess up in some way. 

Suzy didn't seem to be bothered, though. She was as effortlessly cool as always, gracious, funny. Maybe there was a bit more significant eye contact than usual, a little bit more hands brushing hands, maybe a few more bits of innuendo, but... otherwise, it was a normal Suzy-and-Holly-hang-out kind of time. 

Until Suzy took a bite of chocolate cake, and she moaned. It was a full on moan, practically pornographic, and that... well, certain bits of Holly's anatomy took notice. 

"Would you wanna come over?" Suzy's tone was casual, as they made their way out of the restaurant, towards Holly's car. "We could watch a movie, have some tea."

"That, uh...." Holly cleared her throat. "I'm gonna be, uh... I'm gonna be straight with you."

"Like we aren't," snickered Suzy.

"Oh god, you sound like Dan," said Holly, giggling, as they climbed into the car.

"What, Dan makes jokes about being not straight?" Holly buckled herself in. "He and Arin need to just fuck already, it's getting ridiculous."

Holly cleared her throat. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. 

"So are you... are you inviting me over as a friend thing, or as a date thing?"

"Does it matter?" Suzy's eyes were on her hands, which were in her lap. 

"I... I wanna know if there are... expectations," said Holly. "Like... not for me to do anything, but I don't know... I don't know if this was, like, a date-date, or if it was more like a tryout date. A test date. A trial run?"

"It... I'd rather it not be a trial run," said Suzy. "I mean, if you'd be okay with that." 

"I'm okay with that." Holly reached over, and she squeezed Suzy's knee impulsively.

Suzy put her hand over Holly's, and squeezed her fingers. 

"I'd like to go... go to your place," said Holly. "As a... you know, as a date thing. If that's okay."

"That's okay," said Suzy. 

* * * 

The ride back was quiet, Suzy talking about one thing or another. There was... some kind of tension building up, and Holly was trying not to squirm too much. 

"So coffee?" Suzy stretched, her back arching, and her breasts were suddenly outlined under the drape of the fabric.

Oh god.

Holly realized that her mouth was dry. 

How about that? 

"Sure," said Holly, and she cleared her throat again, rubbing her hands together. 

There was more quiet bustling - Suzy shooed her over to the couch with the cats.

Which was its own dilemma. 

Where to sit? In the middle? That would be... well, then Suzy would have to sit next to her. But if she sat on the side, maybe it would suggest that she didn't want Suzy to sit next to her, and that wasn't true either. 

With a sigh, Holly just flopped. Mimi came over, meowing, and Holly pulled the cat into her lap. 

"You don't get social anxiety," Holly told Mimi quietly. 

"She totally does," said Suzy. "We just don't let her out to socially interact." She was carrying two mugs of coffee. 

Holly jumped, and the cat jumped off her lap with an affronted expression. 

“So you’re stunting her social growth in an attempt to save her from herself?”

Wow. That sounded… pretty harsh. Accusatory, even. 

“I mean, uh, not that there’s anything wrong with doing that. With a cat. Not so much with like, a kid. But kids aren’t cats.”

“You don’t say.”

Suzy sat down next to Holly on the couch, so close that their thighs were close together. Suzy didn’t seem to have the same worries about sending the wrong message.

“I, uh… I’m… I’m… you know, new. At this.” Holly cleared her throat. “With… with dating, I mean. But also… you know, with… people who aren’t guys.”

“You mean women?” Suzy sounded amused. Her hand was on Holly’s knee. 

“I mean, in fairness, there are some people who aren’t guys or girls,” Holly pointed out. She looked up Suzy’s arm, to Suzy’s chest (her breasts under that loose fabric, and that made it worse - Holy could just barely make out the shape of them, just the curve, and... oh), and up to Suzy’s face.

Suzy, who had put on more lipstick. 

Suzy’s face, which was getting closer. 

Suzy’s face, which was… against hers. 

Suzy’s mouth was soft. It was soft and it was sticky with lipstick, and her tongue was soft and warm and wet, pressing into Holly’s mouth. 

Suzy pulled back, her expression nervous, hopeful, and Holly smiled at her.

“Hi,” mumbled Holly. “You, uh. I like that.”

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.”

“You wanna keep doing it?”

 

“Yeah,” said Holly. 

“Can I, uh… can you….” Suzy looked down, and she was blushing harder. 

“Can I what?”

“Never mind. It’s weird.”

Suzy was embarrassed, which was a new one - Suzy didn’t seem to have any shame when it came to this kind of thing.

“Are you gonna ask me to pee on you?”

“What?! No!” Suzy stuck her tongue out. “That’s gross!”

“I dunno,” Holly said, and she shrugged. ‘Some people are… you know, into it.” 

“I don’t want you to pee on me,” said Suzy. “I was wondering if you could… if you could maybe try sitting in my lap?”

“That’s your weird thing?” Holly giggled, then covered her mouth, aware of how silly she sounded. “I mean… like… Dan has asked me for weirder stuff.”

“Has he?” A look passed over Suzy’s face, but it was gone so fast that Holly didn’t get a chance to register what it was. “But… can you?”

“My, uh… my skirt is gonna ride up,” said Holly. “If… if that’s not too… you know?” 

“It’s okay,” said Suzy quickly, and she leaned back. “I’ve, uh….” Suzy sighed nervously. “I’ve never… like, made out with someone who was smaller than me.”

“I’m not that much smaller than you,” said Holly defensively. 

“You’re shorter than I am,” said Suzy.

“Not by much,” said Holly. 

It was… different. Suzy was soft and warm, and she was smaller, less… dense than Dan or Ross were. Her hands were smaller and softer on Holly’s hips, and she was wearing lipstick, which was smeared. 

“I’d like to keep kissing you,” said Suzy.

“I’d… I’d like that too,” said Holly, and she leaned down, and she kissed Suzy again, harder this time, with her lips and her tongue, tasting the remnants of the chocolate cake, and whatever it was that girls tasted like. 

Suzy’s hands were on Holly’s sides, and then they were on Holly’s back, then her ass. There was more kissing, fevered, frenzied kissing, the kind of kissing that Holly associated with being a teenager, minus all of the lipstick. 

Things got lost, in the hot, sweet, familiar pull of lips, the warm slickness of tongues, the mistiness of breath. 

Suzy pulled back, breathing heavily, and she looked up at Holly, glassy eyed. 

“Can I touch your boobs?” 

“Yeah,” said Holly. “Yeah, you can... You can touch my boobs.”

Suzy’s hands were hesitant, as they moved from cupping Holly’s cheek, to along Holly’s exposed collarbone, then to the fabric covering Holly’s breasts. One of the buttons of Holly’s blouse was coming undone, and Suzy tugged on it, just enough for it to bare the very tops of her breasts. 

“I’ve, uh… I’ve been thinking about this. A lot,” said Suzy. “Since you mentioned… since you mentioned that you liked girls.” She cupped Holly’s breast, her palm against the nipple. She looked up, from Holly’s face to her own hands, and she smiled. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t have a lot,” said Holly. “I’m sure there are, um, a lot of bigger boobs that might be more fun to play with for the first time.”

“What makes you think this is the first time I’m playing with boobs?” Suzy’s fingers went to the tips of Holly’s breasts, finding her nipples and tugging on them. 

“Oh!” Holly held on to Suzy’s shoulders, and she kept her eyes on Suzy’s face, as Suzy squeezed her breasts again, harder. 

“You’re not even gonna ask me what other boobs I’ve touched?” 

“Well, I mean….” Holly gave a breathless chuckle, as Suzy twisted one of her nipples between two fingers. “You’ve got your own. Or do they not count?” 

“No, no, they count,” said Suzy, and she pushed Holly’s shirt even further open, so that she could look at Holly’s bra. “Can I, uh… can I open it?”

“Yeah, sure, hold on,” said Holly, letting go of Suzy’s shoulders for a minute, to reach behind herself and undo the clasps of her bra. 

“Oh,” said Suzy, when Holly pushed the loose cups of her bra up over her breasts. “Oh, wow.”

Holly made to cover her breasts with her arms, blushing, but Suzy pushed them out of the way. 

“You’re… fucking gorgeous,” Suzy said, and she pressed her face, right into Holly’s breast, her mouth a few inches from Holly’s nipple.

Holly put her hand on the back of Suzy’s head, as Suzy moved to her nipple, sucking on it, swirling her tongue along the tip, and Holly held on to Suzy’s hair, and... _oh_. 

“Mmm,” Suzy moaned, and she sucked hard, hard enough that it made Holly’s hips jerk, her eyes rolling back into her head, her pussy spasming around nothing, her hands yanking at Suzy’s hair. 

Time… time melted. It fled from Holly like a naughty puppy, and Holly was too caught up, in the sweetness, the heat, the wetness, filling her up. Her own hands were on Suzy’s breasts, and she was holding them, she was squeezing them, she was… she was….

“Um.” 

Holly jerked upright, looking over her shoulder. 

Arin was looking over at them with a boner in his pajama pants, and a slightly shocked expression.

“... hi, Arin,” Holly mumbled, covering her breasts with both hands. She was… well aware that she looked utterly debauched, with her swollen lips, dark eyes, and lipstick on her breasts. 

“So, uh… good date, then?” Arin cleared his throat. “I’ll… leave you to tidy up.” 

Holly made eye contact with Suzy, and she burst out laughing, her hands over her face, giddy with arousal, and the absurdity of the situation. 

“He was supposed to be out!” Suzy said defensively. “Maybe we should, um… try this again?” She looked visibly disappointed, as Holly put her bra on, then buttoned her shirt back up. “We could go to your place?”

“I’ll ask Ross,” said Holly. “I think he’s got a date.”

“Really? Who’s he dating?” 

“This person he met on Tumblr,” said Holly. “Their name is Morgan.” She laughed, adjusting her blouse. “They’ve, uh… they’ve got dyed hair, and a bunch of tattoos.”

“I think he has a type,” said Suzy. 

“Well,” said Holly, “don’t we all?”

“What’s your type?” 

“... nerds,” said Holly, adjusting her shirt. “Okay. I’ll, um. I’ll get going.” 

“You sure you don’t wanna stay for coffee?” Their cups were still on the coffee table. 

“Yeah, I should get going.” The… enormity? The strangeness? Whatever it was, it was closing in on Holly like a blanket, and she shivered, She needed… she needed air. 

“Text you later?” Suzy’s expression was hopeful.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll text you later.” Holly stood on tiptoe, and she kissed Suzy in the doorway, watching her go to her car.

* * * 

“So how was your - wow.” Ross raised an eyebrow, as Holly stepped into the golden light of the living room. 

“Wow?” Holly kicked her shoes off, then flopped on the couch next to him, covering her eyes with one hand. 

“You are _covered_ in lipstick,” said Ross. “Like… did you ever see that one Archie comic?”

“Where were you looking at Archie comics? Were they a thing in Australia or something?” 

“We had an import/export store. It sold exotic stuff like poptarts.” Ross wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she put her head on his chest, listening to the familiar lub-dub of his heart. “But yeah. There was this… machine that they used to test lipstick, it, like, jabbed you with kisses.” 

“So I look like I got jabbed with kisses?”

“Well, your neck and your chest do.”

“Wait until you see my boobs.”

“I love that sentence,” said Ross. “I really, really do.” 

There was a comfortable silence, as the movie played on. 

“Ross?”

“Mmm?”

“Can I ask a favor?” 

“What kinda favor?” 

“... can you teach me how to eat pussy?”

“What?!” Ross jerked forward, and Holly was almost unseated. 

“I don’t know how to eat pussy. It’s… it’s a thing. That Suzy might want. And I don’t know how to.”

“... what, right now?”

“Well, no, okay, not right now,” said Holly. “But later?”

“Later,” Ross agreed.

Holly sighed, and let her eyes drift shut.

* * * 

“You seriously asked Ross to teach you how to eat pussy?” Dan leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head. There was a truly glorious array of chinese food spread out in front of them, on Dan’s kitchen table. 

“I need to know that, I feel like,” said Holly, holding her hands out defensively. “Because, like… I want to… you know.” Holly’s face was turning red. “But whenever I asked Ross, he was just, like… he’d go down on me, and he’d do a thing, and I couldn’t really concentrate, because he’d get into it, and then I’d get into it, and I just ended up cumming on his face three times.”

“‘Just’,” said Dan, his expression deadpan.

“You know what I mean,” Holly grumbled. “C’mon, please?” 

“Only because I love you,” Dan said, in a mock serious voice, and something seized in her chest, that made her face turn red and her hands shake. 

That… that was complicated. She wasn’t going to poke that. Not when she was trying to learn something so… new. 

“You’re lucky I went grocery shopping today,” said Dan, and he was ruffling through his crisper. 

“Grocery shopping?”

“Yeah,” said Dan. “We’ve got these!” He held up two peaches.

“... peaches are gonna teach me how to eat pussy?”

“Watch, and learn,” said Dan. He went to rifle through his silverware drawer and took out a paring knife. Then he cut a notch out of the peach, and forced the pit out, leaving it empty, with a hole in it. He did the same thing to the other peach, and he handed it to Holly. 

“Okay,” said Dan. “This? This is her clit.” He pointed to a little piece of the peach at the top. 

“So I should concentrate on that first, right” Holly stuck her tongue out, feeling foolish, but determined. We all look dumb when we start learning how to do something. 

“No,” said Dan. “You have to… romance it, right?” He held the peach in front of his mouth, and he slid his tongue along the slit that he had cut. Then he found the hole, and he slid his tongue into it, wriggling it. 

Holly squeezed her legs together, arousal beginning to bubble in her gut, and she pressed her own face into the peach, sliding her tongue into the hole, stroking it the way she’d lick a lollipop. 

“Yeah,” Dan said, and his voice was rough. She kept her eyes on him, and she slid her tongue out of the hole, to dab at the “clit” of the peach.

“You, uh… you don’t seem to need much studying,” said Dan, licking his lips. There was peach juice down his chin. 

"I'm a quick study," Holly said, her voice rough. She pressed her whole mouth into the slit of the peach, slurping noisily, her tongue sliding in and out of the hole, her nose pressing against the little bump that was supposed to be the clit. 

She kept eye contact with Dan, and she imagined... what did she imagine? She wasn't sure. She imagined that she was looking in his face while she tasted musky saltiness against her cheeks. Was it Dan with a pussy? Was it Dan watching her eat someone else's pussy?

"Dan?" 

"Hm?"

"Would you ever want a pussy?" 

Dan licked his lips, and he smiled at her slyly. 

"I mean," said Dan, and one of his sticky, peach juice covered hands moved between Holly's legs, squeezing her cunt through her panties and her shorts, "I've kinda got one already."

"You think it's yours?" She wasn't sure if that annoyed her or made her horny.

"You do lend it to me sometimes," said Dan, and he slid a finger up the leg of her shorts, his thin fingers warm on her thigh. "I have a timeshare on it."

"A time share." Holly's voice was deadpan. "What, with Ross and Suzy?"

Dan withdrew his finger, and his face did... something. Holly couldn't entirely catch it. 

"Are you... are you bothered by the idea of me fucking around with Suzy? Or even dating her? Like... romantically, I mean. Does it bother you?" She licked her lips. This was... uncomfortable. The arousal in her belly curdled like so much bad milk. 

Dan bit his lip, and he looked at her, really looked at her, then examined his feet. 

"I'm... I'm not used to sharing you with someone new," he said finally. "I'm... well, I'm scared that you'll like her better, since... you know, it's _Suzy_."

"So? You're you." Holly looked up at him, her cheeks still heating up. 

"So?"

"What do ya mean, so? I chose to... I chose to be with you. To date you. For a reason. Because I... you know, I.... I want to." 

She was still too chickenshit to say the big four letter verb. 

She'd get there eventually. 

"I know," Dan said, and he sighed. "It's just... weird. Like, uh... can I admit to something?"

"Sure." Holly leaned against the kitchen counter, the sticky peach still in her hand. 

"I was... I was thinking about you, on your date on Wednesday, and I thought I might, you know, jerk off. Since you and Suzy are both so gorgeous, and hey, I'm imagining my girlfriend naked, right?" He blushed, all the way down his neck. "Anyway, uh... I've had that fantasy before. In the spank bank, I mean."

"Have you now?" Holly raised an eyebrow. She wasn't too surprised. Dan was a bit of a pervert, and we all have our fantasies. 

"Yeah. But when I tried to... you know, get off, all I felt was... gross. Not even, like, gross in a guilty way. Just kinda... lonely and weepy."

"Oh, honey." Holly put one hand on top of Dan's, squeezing his fingers. "You don't have to feel bad."

"It's just... you know, I've always loved girl on girl stuff. But it's apparently different when it's my girlfriend and her... possible girlfriend?" He gave her a nervous smile. 

"I understand," said Holly. She took a step closer to him, until they were belly to belly, and she looked up into his face. "But you know that I won't just... leave you, right? and I can't even imagine someone else replacing you."

Dan sighed gustily. "I just gotta keep telling myself that," he said. He pressed a sticky kiss to her forehead. "How about we go wash up and then cuddle up on the couch?"

"I like that plan," said Holly, standing on tiptoe to kiss him on the mouth. 

* * * 

_Could you send me a dirty picture?_

Holly glanced down at her phone, which was blinking up at her. It was a text from Suzy. 

It was almost one in the morning, and Holly was up late quite literally watching paint dry. 

Stupid convention, inviting her so last minute.

Stupid Holly, agreeing to go in the first place. 

_What kinda dirty picture? I haven't cleaned the garage in months, and I'm sure there's some dust bunnies the size of actual bunnies lurking in the corners._

_; ) You know what I meant._

Holly yawned again, and then lifted her shirt up. baring her bra and the long, pale expanse of her stomach. She snapped a quick picture, and sent it off. 

_That's a cute bra. You know what'd make it cuter?_

_If you say "it being on my bedroom floor," I will cover up everything and wear a full on nun's habit to our next date._

_Ooo, kinky!_

Holly snorted, smiling down at her phone with a fond expression. 

_I bet it'd look awesome on the floor in the Grump room._

... oh wow.

Holly blushed.

_What, fucking at work?_

_You mean you never have?_

_You have?!_

_A few times, yeah. You should totally do it. Next time we're both at the space, let's go make out in a closet._

_I didn't see you being this adventurous, Suzy!_

_I've got hidden depths!_

A selfie of Suzy's face, wearing that same plum colored lipstick she had worn on their last date, winking at the camera. 

Holly blushed, a thin wire of arousal singing through her gut. 

Welp.

_Well... I showed you some skin. Can I get a pic?_

_I dunno... I like keeping you in suspense. Anyway, I wanna have you on your toes for our date on Saturday._

Holly blushed. 

Ross was spending the night with Morgan. Holly had the place to herself. Brian and Dan were on the final crunch of an album. Arin had some marathon drawing to put in. 

Everything was going to be perfect. 

_Can I get a... coming attractions?_

_You're gonna be the coming attraction, sweetheart!_

_Oh my god, I can't believe you just said that._

Holly sent a picture of herself face-palming. 

Suzy sent a picture back, of her own grinning face, her eyes crinkling up at the sides.

Then there was another buzz, and another picture arrived on Holly's phone.

It was a picture of Suzy's chest, one perfectly manicured hand holding up her breast, thumbs pressing into the nipple through the lacy black bra.

Oh. Oh god. 

_Is that enough to tide you over?_

_Oh gosh. Yes!_

_See ya Saturday!_

Holly shivered, putting down her phone. She was... well, she was nervous as all hell, since it would be her first time being sexual with a woman.

But the excitement was expanding inside of her, like a hot air balloon.

No matter what happened, this would be interesting. 

* * * 

Holly jumped when the doorbell rang, and she sat Orph down on the floor and made her way towards her foyer. She opened the door, and there was Suzy, wearing a stripy dress and smiling at Holly with her whole face, like Holly was the best thing she’d ever seen. 

“HI,” said Suzy. “I brought pie.” 

She was indeed holding out a pie. It was store bought, but it’s the thought that counts.

“Pie?” Holly took the pie, and she stepped back, letting Suzy in, and she closed the door with her foot. 

Suzy cleared her throat, and then she laughed, a bit nervous. 

“You gotta promise not to laugh at me,” she told Holly as she toed her shoes off and padded towards the kitchen. 

“I’ll do my best,” said Holly. 

“Arin, uh… Arin said I was gonna rock your world so hard that you’d need a sugar boost, and who doesn’t like apple pie?”

Holly chuckled, then covered her mouth with both hands, looking guilty. 

“You’re, uh… you’re pretty self confident, huh?” She leaned back against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Well, Arin is confident,” said Suzy. “He says I’m pretty good.”

“I, uh… I asked Dan for some advice,” said Holly, her cheeks turning pink. “On… certain things.”

 

“What kinda things?” Suzy was getting into Holly’s personal space, draping her arms over Holly’s shoulders.

“It’s your turn not to laugh,” Holly said. 

“I promise,” said Suzy, her expression solemn. “If I’m wrong, you can spank me.”

Now _that_ was a mental image to get the blood singing. Suzy, bent over Holly’s lap, wriggling her plump ass…..

Holly cleared her throat, her cheeks turning pinker. 

“I asked Dan to teach me how to eat pussy. Since, um… he’s very good at it.”

Suzy began to giggle, but managed to keep a slightly straight face. “Is he, now?”

“Yep!” Holly said. “He, uh… he made me practice.”

“Practice.”

“On a peach. It isn’t like he’s, uh like he’s got….” Holly gave up, and leaned forward, kissing Suzy. It was simpler than digging herself into an even deeper hole. 

Suzy kissed her back, and she was smiling against Holly’s lips. 

“You’re really cute,” Suzy told Holly.

Oh geez. 

“S-so are you,” said Holly. 

There was more kissing. More kissing, and Holly's hands in Suzy's hair, Suzy's hands on Holly's ass, heated panting, more lipstick....

"I think," Holly said slowly, carefully, "that maybe we should go to the bedroom. You know. If, um... if I'm reading the situation right. If I'm not reading it right, then, um... then I'm okay with... if you wanna watch a -" 

Suzy's mouth was on Holly's again, and there was lipstick on Holly's lips, on her chin, on her cheeks, as Suzy just kissed her, kissed her with her whole mouth. 

There was a lot of stumbling, grabbing, more kissing as they made their way towards the bedroom, but Holly paused when they reached the door.

"Um," said Holly. "we're going into the guest room."

"Oh?" Suzy blinked at Holly, her eyes dark, her color high. 

"Yeah. The main bed is for me and Ross. We have dates in the guest room."

"Oh." Suzy looked crestfallen. "For, like... everyone?"

"Yeah," said Holly. 

"Okay," said Suzy. She looked... disappointed, which made Holly's stomach twist unpleasantly. 

But no. That was one of the few rules she and Ross had. No dates in the main bedroom. All the sex on that bed was between Holly and Ross. 

"I want to eat you out," Holly blurted out. 

Suzy blinked at her, nonplussed, but drawn out of her funk.

"Do you, now?" Suzy let herself be led to the guest room, as Holly flipped the lights on, and she let herself be pushed onto her back, her skirt riding up. 

"Yeah," said Holly, bashful. She leaned forward, and she kissed Suzy again, her fingers tangled in Suzy's hair, then moving lower, to squeeze Suzy's breasts, flick across her nipples, trace over Suzy's stomach. 

Suzy was just so _soft_ , so _warm_ , so different from Ross, or from Dan. Holly leaned down, and she kissed along the column of Suzy's throat, nipped her shoulder, drowning in the scent of her skin, her perfume. Her skin tasted a bit like lotion, like salt, and she was whimpering as Holly grabbed the hem of her dress and pushed it up, over her head, leaving her lying there in bra and panties and thigh high stockings. 

"How much have you... what did you... study?" Suzy was gabbling, up on her elbows, looking between the valley of her breasts at Holly. She was the very picture of debauchery, with her smeared lipstick and her red face.

Oh my, but that was... quite a dark spot, on those silk panties. 

Holly took a deep breath, putting her hand on Suzy's inner thigh. Now was the moment of truth. 

"Is it okay if I... if I touch you?" 

"You are touching me," Suzy said, and she made an adorable face, sticking her tongue out like a kitten and scrunching her face up. 

Holly rolled her eyes. 

"Do you wanna touch my pussy?" Suzy's voice went low, sexy, and Holly shivered convulsively. 

"... yes," said Holly, and she licked her lips. "Yes. Yes, I want to touch your pussy." 

"Well," said Suzy, "it is right there."

Holly got on her knees in front of Suzy - it was a bit like worshiping. Everything smelled musky, salty, deep. No wonder Dan always got that enraptured look when he was between her legs, and Ross always lost his snark. 

"It's... I'm sorry," Suzy said, and she sounded genuinely self conscious. "I get kinda... leaky."

"It's fine," Holly said quickly, sliding her hand up Suzy's thigh, until the tip of her finger was sliding along the front of Suzy's panties, gathering up the stickiness that was adhering to the gusset of her panties. 

"Oh," said Suzy, and she laughed nervously. "Your, uh... your fingers... are a lot smaller. A lot smaller than, uh... than what I'm used to."

"I'm sorry?" Holly pressed down a little harder, finding the seam of Suzy's cleft, Suzy's clit right under her finger. 

"No, don't be," said Suzy. "It's... neat."

"Neat?" Holly giggled. "You know, that's what Dan said about, uh.. about the first time I pegged him."

"You've pegged Dan?" Suzy spread her legs a bit wider, and Holly cupped her between the legs, the heel of her hand pressed against the hard nub of Suzy's clit. It felt longer than Holly's. 

"Yeah," said Holly. She gave an experimental squeeze, and Suzy squirmed over her, panting, open mouthed. "Oh!" 

"Is that... is that good?" 

"Yeah," said Suzy. She cleared her throat. "But I think it'd be better... I think it'd be better if you took my underwear off."

"Yeah?" 

“Yeah. If you’re comfortable with that, I mean.”

“I think I would be,” said Holly. “If you were?”

“I wouldn’t suggest it if I weren’t comfortable with it,” said Suzy, and she giggled, clearly nervous. 

“Well, okay, yeah,” said Holly. “Sorry. I’m kinda… new at this. A little anxious I’ll make a mistake, you know?” 

“It’s not gonna bite you,” Suzy said, nudging Holly gently with her knee. “Unless you want to take a break?”

“... can we kiss some more?” Holly licked her lips. The anxiety seemed to be coming from her throat, and was dropping down into her gut like a ball of superheated aluminium. 

“I am _always_ down for kissing,” said Suzy, and she opened her arms up. “Give me some love.”

Holly tried to keep from visibly flinching at the “l” word, and instead sat up, wrapping her arms around Suzy’s waist, turning her face up for kisses.

Suzy kissed her, sound and well, getting lipstick all over Holly’s lips, tasting waxy and warm, her tongue slowly becoming familiar, but foreign. 

She remembered it in flashes, afterwards - Suzy’s neck under her teeth, the vibrations of her giggling making Holly’s teeth buzz. The contrast of soft and stiff against her hands, pushing Suzy’s bra up over her breasts, and the feel of Suzy’s nipples in Holly’s mouth. The soft skin between Suzy’s legs, as her panties were pulled down her legs, leaving her bare pussy open for Holly’s gaze.

Then time turned linear again, and she was lying between Suzy’s legs, kissing up her thigh, breathing in the thick, musky scent of her. It was… heady, salty, enough to make her a little dizzy. There was slick on Suzy’s thighs, and Holly licked it up, savoring the sour-salt taste. 

It was different from Dan or Ross’s pre-cum, different from her own taste.

It was enough to make her start shaking, clinging to Suzy’s hips.

“You doing okay down there?” Suzy’s voice was strained, and she stretched her arm out to pet Holly’s head. 

“Yeah,” said Holly. “I can do it.” 

“You don’t have to.”

“I know. But I want to.” 

And no time like the present. 

Holly pressed her face forward, the way Dan did, her nose separating Suzy’s folds, more of that musky saltiness straight to Holly’s head. She was salivating, and she licked her lips, then adjusted her angle, opened her mouth, and took Suzy in.

Suzy tasted like metal. Like metal, like salt, like arousal. She was making little moaning noises, as Holly slid her tongue along Suzy’s cleft, and then she squeaked, when Holly found her clit and jabbed at it, gently.

It was nothing like the peach. 

It was a lot messier, for one thing. There was slick all over Holly’s chin, and her cheeks were going to be coated in it. 

Holly slid her tongue inside of Suzy, and Suzy whimpered, her hands tightening in Holly’s hair, as Holly put more of her mouth on Suzy, her tongue sliding in and out, then along her clit. She tried sucking on Suzy’s clit, and Suzy jerked against her like a puppet, whimpering. 

“Fuck, oh fuck, Holly, please!” Suzy’s feet were digging into Holly’s sides, and Holly took it as a good sign. 

She used one hand to push Suzy open further, then slid her finger inside of Suzy, cautiously. 

It felt… weird. Hot, wet, tight. Suzy was rhythmically clenching around her. 

“C-c-curl your finger,” Suzy mumbled. “Up. Up… towards my… fuck, yes, like that!” 

Suzy’s ass was no longer in contact with the bed, she was arching her back as Holly lapped at her clit, then sucked on it, adding another finger, thrusting them in and pressing down on her g-spot. 

Suzy came with a wail, tightening and shivering around Holly’s fingers, her whole body going stiff, then flopping back on the bed, liquid and hazy.

Holly sat up, rubbing the back of her mouth, and she was pulled up into Suzy’s embrace, kissing her hungrily, as the other woman licked her own arousal off of Holly’s lips.

“That… must have been some peach,” said Suzy. 

“I, uh… it was neat,” said Holly.

Suzy burst out laughing.

* * * 

“So how was your date?” Dan’s tone was entirely too casual, and Holly cast him a side glance, rotating her ankle in his lap. 

“It was good,” said Holly. “We, uh… we had fun.”

“Do I need to get more peaches?”

“No, no, I think we’re good for peaches,” said Holly. She wriggled her toes, and then she moaned, as Dan pulled her socks off and began to actively rub her feet. 

“I’m glad I could help,” said Dan. He brought his hand further up her leg, and he squeezed her calf, then went back to kneading her sole. 

“You’re a big help with a lot of stuff,” said Holly, and she was surprised when her voice… cracked. 

Huh. 

“Thank you,” said Dan, and they made… significant eye contact.

And she didn’t want to head for the hills.

… huh. 

“Whatcha doing?” Dan watched as she pulled her phone out. “Planning another date?” 

“Nah,” said Holly. “Just, uh… been waffling about a tattoo. I think I’ve finally gotten the idea I wanna go with.” 

“Gonna share?” 

“You’ll see!” 

“Tease.” 

She stuck her tongue out at him.

He laughed and leaned down, kissing her big toe, which made her squeal. 

“Daaaaan!” 

“Yessssss?”

“You’re so weird.”

“It’s what you like about me.” 

“... fair point.”

* * * 

“Another hickey?” Ross was kissing along Holly’s neck from behind. “Suzy seems to be trying to turn you into a fuckin’... leopard.” 

"That's not as articulate as you usually are," said Holly, her own mind a bit hazy. His hands were on her breasts, and he was grinding against her ass. 

They were cuddled up in bed, under the covers. He'd reached for her, she'd pasted herself to the front of his body, and now he was leisurely, lazily, taking his time, and driving her crazy, bit by bit. 

"I'm sorry. My totally hot wife is right here, and I'm somehow expected to recite the Magna Carta - "

"What's the Magna Carta have to do with anything?" Holly teased, and then she moaned, as Ross tweaked her nipple. 

"I dunno. I was trying to think of an official sounding document."

"Why didn't you go with the Constitution?" 

"I'm not originally American." 

"Does Australia have some kind of document like that?"

"Oh, probably," said Ross, and one of his hands left her breasts, to move lower, into her pajama pants, "but I'm sure we've got more important stuff to concentrate on." 

"Do we now? Ah!" Holly moaned her hips rocking forward, as the heel of Ross's hand pressed against her clit, his fingers slipping between her cleft, the very tips of them nudging her hole. 

"I mean," Ross said casually, "I'd much rather be talking about how much I wanna fuck you, you know? It's a lot less dry." 

One of his fingers slid into her with a wet noise, and she blushed, covering her face with one hand. 

"I should... hope it's not dry," Holly said, breathless.

"We've yet to have an encounter that's left you dry," said Ross, and he was pulling her pajama pants down, letting go of her breast - his other hand was off of her now, and she heard a rustling noise. 

"If you're gonna make jokes about my genitals I can make just as many about yours," said Holly, breathless, as Ross's cock nudged between her legs, sticky with her arousal, the shaft grinding against her labia. 

"I surrender, I surrender," Ross said. "Please don't insult my dick."

"I wasn't gonna insult it," said Holly, spreading her legs wider, making more of a tent of the blanket. "Just remind you of the time you came from touching my thigh."

"That was the first time we got together," Ross grumbled, his face nuzzling into the sweaty hair at the back of her neck, his dick lining up with her pussy, then sliding into it, easy and familiar as her own name.

"Mmm...." Holly lolled her head back against him, as he pulled her closer, his hands on her hips. 

"Hmm...." Ross paused, fully hilted. "I can't get deep enough."

"You need a better submarine," Holly giggled, and Ross groaned, nipping her on the shoulder.

"That was _bad_ ," he told her.

"I couldn't resist," Holly said, giving him her best puppy eyes. 

Which were pretty useless in the darkness, apart from the fairy lights. 

"Get on your belly," said Ross. "I wanna do you from behind."

"Just don't let the cold air in," said Holly, still wrapped in her blanket.

"I'll warm ya up, baby," said Ross in an attempt at a sexy growl. 

Holly resisted the urge to giggle, and rolled onto her belly, getting up on her knees.

"I didn't see you being into such a pornographic position," she teased. "Face down, ass up?"

"It gives me good leverage," said Ross, panting as he slid into her again, and then began to fuck her in earnest. 

"Oh, god, Ross," Holly mumbled, and her hand slid down between her legs, rubbing her clit with each thrust of his hips, beginning to tense up on her way to orgasm. 

"Oh, fuck, Holly, you feel so good," Ross gasped, and he was really fucking her now, enough to make the bed shake. 

Holly held on to the bed, thrusting back against him awkwardly. It was harder to participate actively in this position - any wild movement would leave her losing her balance. But Ross seemed to be enjoying himself, pushing into her, sliding out, then pushing back in. 

Her shirt was rubbing against her nipples, and his hands were sweaty on her back. He hilted himself inside of her and began to kiss along her spine, pushing her shirt up in the back as he gave quick, deep thrusts. 

"Holly," Ross mumbled. "Holly, I'm gonna cum. Holly, Holly, oh!" 

She felt the first rush of warmth inside of her, and she redoubled her efforts on her clit, until she came, gasping, throbbing around him, then slumping down. 

“I’ll be right back,” Ross murmured, and he kissed Holly’s back again, petting her sides. 

Holly began to drift, her eyes sliding closed. 

“You’ve got a date with Dan, right?” 

“Mmm?” 

Ross was rubbing her between her legs with a warm washcloth, cleaning her out so that she wasn’t going to be sleeping in the wet spot. 

“If you fuck Dan tomorrow, you’ll have filled your bingo card.”

“B-b-bingo card?” Holly yawned widely. 

“Yeah. You’ve fucked every one of your partners within a twenty four hour period.”

“Mmm.” She snuggled into the covers, already drifting off to sleep. 

* * * 

"You know," Dan said, his hands on Holly's hips, "I don't think Arin has this many hickeys." He brought his hand up and pressed his thumb against Holly's neck, and then he made a face. "No, wait. That's lipstick."

"What's Arin have to do with anything?" Holly rested her arms on his shoulders, her cleavage more or less level with his nose. He was nuzzling into her cleavage, then making annoyed little noises every time he encountered lipstick. "And I'm sorry. Suzy kinda... pulled me into the supply closet." Her face was heating up, and she was feeling... oddly defensive? 

It was weird. Complicated.

"Can you... can you clean up next time?" Dan cleared his throat, and he sounded guilty, uncomfortable. "I'm sorry. I just... I want to... you know, when it's us, I want to remember that it's us. Not us plus Suzy."

Holly drew back, looking him in the face.

"Does it bother you that me and Suzy are a thing?" She tried to keep her tone calm, because she... was not up for having the big feelings jam right now. That was the kinda shit you had to _prepare_ for. 

"No, no," Dan said quickly. "I'm... fine with you dating Suzy. I just, um. I feel like she's being possessive sometimes."

"I think you're imagining things," Holly said, and then she regretted it, because... wow, that was a jerk thing to say. "That is... I don't think you're, like, delusional or anything. Just that maybe we're... readjusting? Since you're used to being the only other person I'm dating, and now you don't get to see me as often?"

"Maybe," Dan said, although he didn't sound convinced. "So how about we take a shower?"

"You think I need one?" Holly sniffed under one arm, then made a face. Well, she had been in a hot garage all day, with paint. She was kinda sweaty. 

"I'll take it with you," Dan said quickly. "C'mon. We can make out in my awesome new shower."

"You're gonna put your and through the wall," said Holly, but she followed after him anyway. 

* * * 

Kissing Dan under hot water was possibly one of Holly's favorite things to do. She was washing her hair today, and she let it get wet.

Her hair getting wet was the least of her concerns, when Dan's mouth was pressing against hers, his big hands spanning her hips, his teeth nibbling at her lips, his cock hard against her belly, as the hot water pelted down on them, filling the bathroom with steam.

Holly got on her knees, and she looked up at Dan through her bangs, and she smiled at him through her eyelashes.

He stared down at her, panting, his hair pasted down by the water, and he tangled his fingers in her own hair, as she leaned forward to kiss the head of his cock, then take it into her mouth. 

She moaned around it when she sucked it, her cheeks hollowing out, her eyes drifting shut as the hot water pattered down on her head, almost echoing.

It was... quiet, inside of her mind. It was just the warmth of Dan's body, the steamy heat of the shower, the coolness of the tiles under her knees, the wafting of her breath through her nose, the salt of Dan's pre-cum in her mouth. 

He was thrusting into her mouth, gently, hard enough to make her gag, and Holly took it, her throat constricting around his length, then relaxing as he withdrew, licking and sucking along the shaft, then moving to swirl her tongue along the head, taking it into her mouth and sucking on it like a recalcitrant lollipop. 

Dan moaned, and he was leaning back against the wall, his knees clearly going weak as he kept thrusting into her mouth, clearly trying to keep his hip movements shallow, to keep her from choking. 

Holly pulled off after a few minutes, making a face.

"Babe?"

"Mmm?"

"My knees are killing me. Could you fuck me?"

"Not in this shower," said Dan. "You're, uh... a bit vertically challenged."

"Hey!" Holly prodded him in the side with her finger. 

"I could do you over the sink," Dan said, and he sounded so eager that Holly had to grin. 

"You wanna?"

"Do you? Always."

"Over the sink, specifically." 

"Yeah?"

"It should work."

There were a messy few minutes, where they got out of the shower, tried not to slip on the water, got everyone arranged where they needed to be. 

Then he was sliding into her, and her arms were pressed into the sink, and she stared into the mirror, which was fogging up with the steam, watching the rapture on his face.

She usually couldn't see his face when he was taking her from behind. Did he always look so... amazing? Like he was communing with some kind of deity, as he hilted his cock inside of her and began to move it, his pubic hair scratchy against her ass, his balls slapping against her. 

"Oh my god, Holly, fuck, you feel so... good...." Dan was panting, and he pressed closer to her, leaving hard, wet kisses along her back. She rubbed her hand across the mirror to keep it from fogging up, watching his face as he drew closer and closer to climax. 

Holly's hand went between her legs, to her clit, and she rubbed it, grinding it against the heel of her hand, then gasping as Dan's fingers covered her, and the both of them pushed her to orgasm, as his cock split her open, driving deep into her, and her toes were curling on the wet floor as the pressure in her belly built and built and _built_....

And snapped.

She came with a gasp around him, and he groaned, beginning to thrust harder, until he lost his rhythm, and just pushed his hips against hers as he came as well, his whole body shaking, his knees going weak. 

"I hate doing this standing up," Dan said, meeting her eye in the mirror as he leaned against her, his weight resting across her back like a heavy blanket. 

"It was totally worth it," Holly said, panting. Totally, totally worth it. 

* * * 

It was Arin's idea to go on something like a double date. 

Holly... wasn't exactly expecting it - Arin always seemed a bit uncomfortable when he saw her these days. Maybe he was still easing into the poly thing. But he suggested a double date, and Suzy seemed enthused about it, so who was Holly to argue?

She sat in the Berhow-Hanson living room, next to Dan, and she held his hand. 

"I haven't done a double date in ages," she told Dan, squeezing his fingers. 

"I don't see how this is any different from when we all hang out together," said Dan, but he squeezed hers back. 

"It just is," Holly said. "Oh, did I tell you I got my tattoo appointment?" 

"Yeah? You still not gonna tell me what it is?"

"I'll give you a hint," said Holly, and then Suzy walked in.

"Hiiiii," said Suzy, and she leaned down, kissing Holly on the mouth. 

More plum colored lipstick on Holly's lips. 

She glanced over at Dan, and he was wearing a pained expression, although it only lasted for a second, before he was grinning at them.

"Putting on a show for me, huh?" Dan pulled Holly a little closer, his hand around her waist.

"Nah," said Suzy. "It's like makeup. Our kissing is for ourselves!"

"Well, lately some of your makeup hasn't just been for you," said Dan, shooting a meaningful look at her lips. 

"What can I say? I like to share." Suzy smiled, her teeth white against her dark lips.

Something anxious was broiling up in Holly's belly, something twisting and twitching, and she bit her lip, trying to keep it back.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"What are we sharing?" Arin came in, and he was wearing actual pants, and a nice button down shirt. 

"Well, we were talking about sharing makeup," said Suzy, and she turned around to kiss Arin, a bit of her lipstick on his lips. "Since my girlfriend ends up getting some of it."

Holly flushed - she was Suzy's girlfriend. It was... it was a heady idea.

"I mean," said Dan, "she's my girlfriend too." He sounded... downright petulant, and the hand on Holly's waist got tighter. 

Holly shot him a glance, and Dan smiled at her nervously.

"And Suzy is my wife," said Arin, and he had his own arm around Suzy' waist. 

There was a bit of an awkward silence.

"So," said Holly, trying to keep her tone bright. "How about we, uh... we head to the restaurant?" 

Dan and Suzy were making... significant eye contact. Oh god. 

"Dinner," Holly said again, meeting Arin's eyes.

He smiled at her wanly. 

* * * 

The ride to the restaurant was quiet, and Suzy kept glancing back at Dan and Holly - he was holding Holly's hand, and she was sweating, out of anxiety. 

She made eye contact with both of them, and she smiled. 

It was a nice enough restaurant - good vegetarian options. Dan sat next to Holly, and Suzy's foot was pressed against Holly's from across the table. 

They kept up reasonable conversation - Arin seemed to be making an effort to be goofy, and Dan was trying to keep up.

He kept his hand on Holly's leg, though. 

"So, uh... why'd you decide to go on a double date?" Holly cleared her throat, taking a bite out of her lasagna. 

"Well," Arin said, and he put down his burger. "When Suzy's not with you, she's talking about you, so I thought that maybe the best way we could all have some quality time without me being a third wheel would be if it was all four of us."

"... oh," said Holly, and she blushed, staring down at her plate.

"Shit, did I make it awkward? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it awkward."

"Awkward happens sometimes," said Dan, his own plate of chicken almost untouched.

"Maybe we should... break the awkwardness," said Arin, and he was giving Dan a look that Holly wasn't sure how to describe. "You should kiss me, dude."

"... what?!"

"C'mon. Your girlfriend is dating my wife. It'd be all... circular and shit, if you and I became a thing." Arin's eyes were overbright, and he was leaning over his plate. "It'd make the ladies happy."

"I would like to see that," Suzy chirped. 

Holly licked her lips. This was... this was uncomfortable. 

"How about we finish our dinner, maybe go to a bar?"

"I wanna go to a gay bar," said Suzy.

"It'd feel weird if we went to a gay bar, since we're a pair of straight couples," said Dan.

"Straight, nothing," said Suzy. "I'm not straight."

"Well, we're... male-female couples. Unless there's something you want to share with the class, Dan?" She smiled at him, with too many teeth.

"Maybe another night," Holly said. "I'm tired. I think I just wanna head home."

"You want some company?" 

"Nah," said Holly. "I've got Dan, after all." She looked up at him, and she kissed him.

Dan beamed at her. 

"Okay," said Suzy, and she deflated a bit.

"You've still got me," said Arin, and his voice was plaintive.

"Yeah," said Suzy, and she kissed Arin, right on the mouth.

Whatever anxious thing that had been brewing in Holly's chest relaxed, and she sighed, leaning into Dan, her head under his chin. 

Things were gonna be okay. 

* * * 

"Arin is still hitting on me," said Dan, a few days later.

They were cuddled up on the couch, Holly's head on Dan's chest, Dan's fingers absently playing with her hair. 

"How do you know he's actually, you know, hitting on you, versus what he usually does?" Holly could feel Dan's heart beating against her cheek, and her eyes were sliding closed, his fingers sending pleasant tingles across her scalp. 

"Well, he had his hand pretty high on my leg," said Dan. "And, uh... he said some things about how..." He cleared his throat. "About how, um... about how he has to share his wife and his best friend with you, so you could learn to share me with him."

"What, really?" That… stung. Arin was her friend. To hear that he was talking about her like that was… pretty uncomfortable. 

“I think he’s been feeling kinda… neglected,” Dan said, and his tone was careful. “Since you and Suzy have been spending so much time together, and you and I spend so much time together.”

“Well,” said Holly, aware that her tone was getting defensive, “maybe… maybe he should talk to Suzy.” 

“That’s what I said” said Dan. “After he tried to kiss me.”

“Oh god,” Holly groaned. Then she paused. “Would you ever, um… want to kiss him?”

“I wouldn’t… be against it,” Dan said carefully. “I mean, once I’ve had something in my btt, what does it matter if I let something else in?”

“But that’s different from kissing,” Holly pointed out.

“Well, okay, yes,” said Dan. “I dunno.” He kissed the top of her head, as she snuggled closer. “We can figure it out as we go.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Holly, although her anxiety was starting to ramp up. She pushed it down, and held on to Dan’s shirt. 

* * * 

_You sure you don’t want some company?_

_Yeah. I do best with tattoos when I’m solo. I can listen to music and just kinda read._

_You still gonna be able to come into the holiday party?_

_Wouldn’t miss it for the world, sweetheart._

_ <3 _

Holly grinned down at her phone, and Ross raised an eyebrow. 

“You have turned it so much of a sap since you started getting together with Dan, you know that?” Ross leaned down and kissed the top of Holly’s head as he bustled around, getting ready for work. “I’ve never seen you grin like that at a text message from me, ya know!”

“Well, yeah,” said Holly. “Because you’re usually the one sending the text messages.” 

“... fair,” said Ross. He cleared his throat, and he looked a bit uneasy for a moment. “Are you sure you wanna go to the party tonight?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Holly rested her elbows on the table, staring down at her oatmeal. 

“Well, um.” Ross flopped onto a chair next to her, and took one of her hands in his. “I’m about to sound like a real jerk.”

“Usually you don’t offer a warning,” Holly teased. 

“I think that Dan and Suzy need to, like… sit down and work out their differences,” said Ross. “And maybe you should, uh… have a talk with Arin.”

Holly groaned, and pressing her face into her free hand.

“I know,” she said. “I’m sorry. I’ve kinda been putting it off.”

“It’s okay,” said Ross, and he kissed her knuckles. “After the party.”

“Tomorrow, I promise, I will sit them both down, and we will have a long talk about feelings.”

“And then you’ll talk to Arin?”

“And then I’ll talk to Arin.” 

“Still going home with Dan tonight?” 

“Yeah. You still going to Morgan’s tonight?”  
,  
“Yep. After the party.”

“You sure you don’t wanna bring them?”

“They’ve got a late shift. I’m picking them up, we’re gonna get tacos.”

“How romantic,” Holly said, and she smiled when Ross blushed. 

“Love you,” said Ross, kissing her on the mouth, then heading out the door. “Have fun getting stabbed with needles!”

Holly groaned, but waved back at him.

* * * 

The tattoo was… unpleasant. She listened to a D&D podcast, bit her hand, and kept her eyes shut. The needle rattled through her bones, and she relaxed into the table, as it just happened and happened, until she was standing up, her shirt hugged to her shoulder, her bra stained with ink. She looked over her shoulder in the mirror, at her new tattoo, and she smiled. 

Perfect.

* * * 

The holiday party was going well enough, if a bit dull. 

Arin and Dan were still grumping (or doing… something in the Grump room, Holly wasn’t gonna look too closely, with Arin being as… pushy as he had been lately), and Barry and Brian were arguing about who knew what.

Which was why Holly didn’t protest too hard when Suzy dragged her into the supply closet, for sloppy, enthusiastic makeouts. It was a kiss filled with the taste of lipstick, or eggnog, of warmth. They were full on dry humping in the closet, and Holly pulled back, pressing her forehead against Suzy’s and giggling. 

“You’re so amazing,” Holly whispered against Suzy’s lips, panting, one of Suzy’s legs pressed between her own. She was grinding against Suzy’s knee, and she had her hands up Suz’s shirt. 

“Yeah?” Suzy pressed kisses along Holly’s neck, and Holly could feel the waxy smear of lipstick against her skin. 

“You’re the only one who could get me to make out with you in the fucking… company holiday party,” Holly mumbled, and then she was kissing Suzy again, her hand tangled in Suzy’s hair, wrapping it around and around her fist. Her other hand found Suzy’s breast, kneading it through the fabric of her t-shirt, and she pulled on her nipple, swallowing her moans.

Holly pulled back to watch Suzy’s face in the dim light, and it was.. Beautiful. Her heart swelled like a balloon.

Maybe… maybe she could fall in love with her. That was a thing that could happen. 

Her face flushed, because that… was a scary thought. A very scary thought. 

Three people? Did she have that much love in her? That much… something?

“Babe? Your pocket is vibrating.” Suzy ground her hips against Holly’s, and Holly giggled, light headed with post tattoo exhilaration and arousal, on the kind of happiness that is like being drunk.

“Yeah, hold on.”

Holly took her phone out, and answered it. 

“Hey babe,” she said, and she caught Suzy’s uncomfortable expression. “Yeah, I’m here. I’ll, uh.. I’ll be with you in a second. Okay. I uh… you too.” She flushed. 

“Dan is gonna be so excited when he sees my new tattoo,” said Holly, putting her phone back in her pocket.

“Can I see it?” Suzy’s tone was wheedling.

“You’ll see it when everyone else does,” said Holly, teasing. “I can’t take the bandage off yet, anyway.” She indicated the bandage on her back, under the strap of her tank top. 

“You’re no fun,” Suzy pouted, and then Holly had to kiss her again, and it was another five minutes before they both stumbled out of the supply closet.

And pretty much right at Dan’s feet.

“Oh,” said Dan, and his face… ouch.

He looked… wounded, almost. Pained. 

“You’ve got… you’ve got some… stuff on you,” said Dan, and he reached out to rub the lipstick off with his thumb, then dropped his arm. “I’ll, uh….”

“I’m going to go get a paper towel,” Holly said, slipping away from Holly’s hold, making her way to the bathroom. 

She pressed a wet paper towel to her overheated cheeks, and she stared at herself in the mirror. 

She looked… debauched. Her eyes were dark, her lips were swollen, and oh my, but that was quite a bit of lipstick smeared about her person.

If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that Suzy was putting on extra on purpose. 

But that was weird.

She came out to shouting.

“Listen, just because _you_ can’t get over your jealousy issues -”

“ _My_ jealousy issues?! I’m not the one who has to fucking… cover my girlfriend in my special shade of lipstick every time i see her!”

“No, you just give me the stink eye every time you see me!”

“Maybe if you weren’t so fucking possessive in the first place, I wouldn’t feel like everytime I’m with her I have to wash off the reminder that you guys are fucking.” 

Dan and Suzy were standing almost chest to chest. 

Dan was _shouting_ , holy shit. 

Were they… were they fighting? No, that couldn't be right, why would they be fighting? 

“Maybe you’re just not cut out to be poly,” Suzy said, and she sounded… smug?

“Bullshit,” said Dan. “I was doing fine until you came along.”

Holly was just standing there. She should have been going between them, being the voice of reason. 

She shouldn’t have just been standing there, with Barry next to her, one nervous hand on her arm. 

“It’s not true poly if you -”

 

“Don’t start on that bullshit,” Dan snapped. “It’s easy for you to go on about how easy it is. You’ve got a husband to go home to. Holly is the love of my life!”

Holly couldn’t breathe. Everything was starting to spin.

“You’re just lonely, you can’t really believe - ”

“How does she take her tea? Does her smile make your day? Does -”

“Holly.” 

Ross’s voice was right in her ear, and Ross’s hand was on the back of her neck. 

“Holly, I need you to breathe,” Ross said, quiet, calm. 

Arin was shouting in the next room, something about how Dan couldn’t talk to his wife that way, but Holly couldn’t hear anything over the rushing in her ears. 

“Take me home,” Holly said, her voice quiet, desperate. “Please. Take me home.”

“Okay,” said Ross. “Do you want me to get you your coat?”

“No. Just… get me out. Please.”

* * * 

Holly sat in the car, and she was crying. 

It was ugly crying too, and it was... .

How could she be so damn stupid? How could she miss all the signs? All of the looks Dan and Suzy shot each other. The way Dan’s face tightened up whenever Suzy was mentioned. The way Suzy kept leaving all of those marks, a big ol’ “I was here” message to Dan. 

How could she have missed it?

“Hey,” said Ross, and he came back, holding her coat. “Do you want me to cancel on Morgan? They’d understand, if you needed a night with me.”

“N-no,” Holly mumbled, and she wiped her nose and her eyes. “I… I don’t wanna ruin your night.”

“I’m not gonna have my night ruined if I miss a date with them,” said Ross. “And you’re important.”

“W-what time is your date?” Holly leaned into her car seat, still panting. Suzy’s lipstick was still on her skin, thick and waxy, and she swiped at it ineffectually with her napkin. “Ross?”

“Hm?” Ross pulled the car out, and they began driving home.

“Did you… did you realize that Dan and Suzy… don’t like each other?” 

“I know that they’ve been getting on each other’s nerves, yeah,” said Ross. “And, um… I’ve been meaning to talk about Suzy… marking her territory.” 

“You think that’s why she does it?”

“Well, uh… you don’t see her doing it to Arin,” said Ross. He cleared his throat.

“It’s okay,” said Holly, and she leaned back. “I hope… I hope you don’t think I’m… I don’t know. Maybe I’m not cut out for poly.”

“I think we all fucked up,” said Ross. “Suzy and Dan should have talked, I should have said something, you should have caught on.” He squeezed her fingers, at a stop light. “We can deal with that later.” 

“What time are you picking up Morgan?”

“Eleven.” 

Holly checked the car clock. Her phone was buzzing, and she… was not dealing with that right now. 

It was eight o’clock. 

“... can you stay with me until then?” 

“Of course,” said Ross. “You wanna just cuddle up on the couch?” 

“Yeah.” She sighed, flopping back into her seat. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Being so… understanding.” 

“It’s what I’m here for,” said Ross, and he grinned at her. “That, and the excellent dick.” 

Holly snorted, covering her eyes with both hands. 

The buzzing in her pocket could be dealt with later. 

* * *  
Holly had a careful shower, keeping the bandage for the tattoo out of the water, got all the lipstick off.

She was getting sick of lipstick.

Holly cuddled with Orph and Ross under a blanket, until Ross had to go see Morgan. 

She was okay now. More or less. 

Maybe ready to confront her phone, even. 

There were three voice mails, two from Suzy, one from Dan. There were more text messages than she wanted to deal with, so she listened to her voicemails, keeping Orph on her chest and purring. 

“Hi, sweetie, it’s me.” That was Suzy. “Just wanna, uh… wondering where you are, hoping everything is okay. Sorry about all the shouting, you know how things get. Can’t wait to talk to you!” 

She hung up, and then came the next one. 

“Baby, I’m so sorry. Barry just talked to me, he told me you were… I’m sorry. Can you call me?” 

Holly sighed. 

That was gonna be tomorrow.

Third voice message.

“Hi,” said Dan, and he sounded… choked up. “I’m… I’m really sorry. I was a jerk. Can you call me back when you get a chance?” 

Holly looked down at her phone. She sighed, and she pressed the “call” button.

“Hello?”

“Hi,” said Holly. “Can you… are you okay?”

“I’m a jerk,” Dan said. “I’m sorry.” 

“You were kind of a jerk,” said Holly. “Can you… can you come over? I want to talk about it.”

“I don’t have to,” said Dan. “I mean… if you never wanna see me again, I understand, and I’ll respect -” 

“You’re being a drama queen,” said Holly, and there was a touch of hysterical laughter, on the edges of her tone. “Just come over.”

“I’ll be there,” Dan said, his tone earnest. 

* * * 

Dan sat at her kitchen table, a mug of tea cradled in his long fingers. 

“I’ve… I’ve been unhappy,” said Dan, slowly, haltingly. “I’ve… I’ve felt like Suzy doesn’t want you to be dating me, but I figured it’s just... you know, paranoia. Because Suzy likes me. Only… I think she’s been jealous, because I’m spending all of my time with Arin, and now I spend a lot of time with you, and so she feels like she has to compete.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize… all of that,” said Holly, looking down at her hands on the table. “I just got kinda… caught up in all of that. In how _good_ it felt, you know? Like… I’ve never… I didn’t know I could be with girls. That I could like women, let alone be with women.”

“As I’ve said before,” said Dan, looking anxious but amused, “pussy can make you kind of stupid.” 

Holly snorted. 

“You’re gross.” She paused. “But… I’ve realized… I….” She covered her face with her hands. “I think… no, I know. I know I love you.”

Dan went very still next to her.

“B-b-because, because when… when you were fighting with Suzy, I… I had a panic attack, because I think I could maybe be in love with her, but I know I’m in love with you, and I… I want to be with you, but not if you’re gonna get mad at my other partners, except it’s not my other partners, because it’s not with Ross, just with Suzy.” She took a deep breath, and she met his eyes. “It’s… it’s scary, okay?”

“I understand,” said Dan, and his voice was gentle. He put his hands over hers, and he squeezed them. “I’m… I'm still gonna be here. If you need to take a break, catch your breath.” 

“I… I don’t want you to go,” Holly said, and she was crying, oh god, tears were dripping down her face, her lower lip was quivering. “I want you to stay. I want… I want to be with you. For as long as I can. And… and I didn’t think I had that in me, for someone who wasn’t Ross.” 

“It’s okay,” Dan said. “It’s… it’s also okay if you never feel as… as strongly as I do, okay? I know that I tend to go kinda overboard, with the feels.” He laughed, clearly self conscious. 

“I… I don’t know.” She kissed his fingers. “But I love you, okay? I… I’ve been afraid of telling you. Because it’s so… it’s so big, it’s scary. But it’s true.”

“I love you too,’ said Dan, his voice tender. “Do you… do you want to come back to my place? Since Ross’s partner is gonna be coming over soon, and we wanna give the lovebirds some solo time.”

Holly laughed, hiccuping, through her nose, and she nodded. “Can you, um… can you help me with my tattoo first?” She blushed. “It’s gotta be out from under its bandage first.”

“Sure, sure,” said Dan. “Just tell me what you need me to do.”

* * * 

They stood in her tiny bathroom, and Holly pulled her shirt off, then unclipped her bra. She caught sight of Dan’s face in the mirror, and she smiled a bit in spite of herself. Even with all the emotional theatrics, he was still a bit of a letch at heart. 

“Now, just… take the tape off,” said Holly, meeting his eyes in the mirror. 

He pulled the tape off, and she winced. Then he was peeling the bandage off, and it was sticky and gooey and about as gross as a new tattoo can be. 

“You gotta wash it gently,” said Holly. “Wet it with your fingers, then spread the soap on gently.” 

“Understood,” said Dan, squirting a bit of soap onto his hand and carefully spreading it across the tattoo, cleaning up the gunk and the blood.

Then he paused. 

“Oh,” said Dan, and his voice was choked up.

“I’m… I mean….” Holly looked down. “I… I thought you might like it.”

Dan looked down at the unicorn tattoo, and then he met her eyes in the mirror, and his might have been a bit… misty, but he looked happy. Very happy, if startled. 

“It’s… I love it,” said Dan. “The… the colors.”

“Red, white, and blue,” Holly said, and she giggled “It’s… it’s not too tacky, is it?”

“No,” said Dan quickly. “No, not at all.” He cleared his throat, carefully rinsing the tattoo off. “It’s, uh… why’s it on your back?” 

“You always have my back,” Holly said quietly. “I know you do.” 

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. 

* * * 

“... hi,” said Suzy, standing in front of Holly’s desk in the Grump space.

“Hi,” said Holly, looking up at her. 

They’d had a rather terse discussion, where Suzy had asked for some space, to think things through, and Holly had nodded.

She’d been dreading this office visit, but… well, she had filming she needed to do, with Brian, and he was busy, and... this was the first time she’d seen Suzy in about a week and a half. 

“Can we… can we go for a walk?” Suzy held up a bag of frozen peas. “I thought we could feed the ducks.”

“Okay,” Holly said cautiously. “We can, uh, take an early lunch.”

Suzy smiled at her, luminescent, and Holly wanted to kiss her, so badly. 

She wasn’t wearing lipstick. 

* * * 

“I… I have some issues. WIth… with being possessive,” said Suzy. “I think I… I might have moved really fast. With us.” She tossed a handful of peas in the pond. “It’s… I’ve been with Arin my whole life, you know? I think I got caught up in the… excitement of a new relationship, you know?” She laughed. “NRE. I didn’t think it’d get to me, since it’s been since forever.” 

Holly nodded, tossing more peas to the ducks. 

“And… well… you know. Being… finding out I’m not straight was exciting too. Or at least, being able to act on it.” Suzy sighed, flopping back into the bench. “But it turns out that Arin has been feeling super neglected, and I’ve kinda been… caught up in everything. I just got super caught up.” 

“I can understand that,” said Holly. 

“And… I was being a real jerk. To Dan, and with the… with the lipstick, all of it.” Suzy huffed, her bangs fluffing out in front of her face. “I should have done more… well, soul searching. I was so _happy_ that I was able to date you that I didn’t really think of how to do it… ethically, I guess.”

“I understand,” said Holly, and she looked at Suzy, really looked at her. Her eyes were red, as was her nose. She had eschewed her usual makeup, and was bare faced, vulnerable. 

“If you don’t want to date me anymore…” 

“No,” Holly said quickly. “I mean, if you’d like?”

She’d had a long talk with Dan about it. About expectations, about time management.

About being straightforward about needs. 

“I’d… like to,” Suzy said slowly. “But.. I feel like I need to… start from scratch. Because i made such a mess of it.”

“Hi,” said Holly, and she held her hand out to Suzy to shake. “My name is Holly.”

“Hi,’ said Suzy, and she shook Holly’s hand. “I’m Suzy.”

Holly pressed closer to her on the bench, thigh to thigh. 

“This is gonna sound really forward,” said Holly, “but I’d really like to kiss you.” 

“I’m usually not this easy,” said Suzy, with a giggle, “but… I’ll make an exception. Just this once.”

Suzy’s lips were moist and soft, and Holly sighed, putting her hand on Suzy’s shoulder, then pushing back.

“Wanna come watch a movie on Sunday?” 

“I would love to,” said Suzy, and she smiled, right enough to light the whole park up.

* * * 

“How was your date with Suzy?” Dan spread the blanket out on the ground, wincing occasionally. There was a bandage around his left wrist, and he kept flexing it and wincing. 

“It was good,” said Holly, wrapped in her own blanket. 

It was chilly out these days. 

It had been about a month since the big fight at the holiday party, and things were… quieter. There was a little less of the soul blistering arousal, but more things were out in the open.

Arin had even apologized, to everyone. 

There were more uncomfortable talks these days, and awkward feelings jams, but it was so much less anxiety inducing. 

“We should do another hang out,” said Dan. “Since all that bad business got cleared out.”

“Yeah,” Holly said quietly. “Did you, uh… did you talk to Arin about his feelings about certain stuff?” 

“You mean his sudden gay awakening?”

“I wasn’t gonna put it that way,” said Holly, settling down on the blanket. 

Dan plopped down behind her, and she leaned back against him, his legs bracketing hers. 

“We’ll see how it goes,” Dan said. “He’s still trying to figure out if he’s actually into me, or if it’s just his weird jealousy… thing.” 

“That is important,” said Holly, as Dan’s arms wrapped around her. “What happened to you? If I didn’t know any better…” She tapped the bandage peeking out from the inside of his coat, and he winced. “Did you get a tattoo?”

“... maybe,” said Dan, his eyes darting to the side. “I mean… there’s a possibility.”

“No way,” Holly said, and she was laughing. “Where’d you go? What’d you get?”

He rattled off the shop name, and Holly nodded appreciatively. That was a good place.

“Do you wanna see it?” 

“You shouldn’t take the bandage off in a nonsterile environment,” Holly said, “but I think letting it have some fresh air couldn't hurt, right?” 

“You gotta promise not to laugh,” said Dan, but he was pushing his sleeve up, grabbing the tape. 

“I won’t laugh,” said Holly. “Although I thought you were getting a unicorn wizard.”

“Two unicorn tattoos in one relationship might be overdoing it a bit,” said Dan. He peeled the bandage away, and the tattoo was visible in the dim light.

It was a pigeon.

“You got a -” Holly looked at him, over her shoulder, and her eyebrows went up. 

“I wasn’t being… melodramatic,” Dan said quietly. “When I said you were… when I said you were the love of my life.”

“... oh,” said Holly. She licked her lips. “I’d, uh, I’d… I’d touch it, but that’s probably not so good at this point.”

“I’d wait until it stings a bit less,” Dan agreed. He kissed her on the temple, his arms around her, her hands resting on his forearms. 

Around them, the fireflies flickered like christmas lights.


End file.
